(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The Washington Post reported Friday that representatives from Elon Musk’s nescient Department of Government Efficiency are already visiting government agencies ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
DOGE is an initiative that aims to cut some $2 trillion from the federal government, though Musk admitted on Wednesday that’s unlikely. Nevertheless, his peons are making early visits to more than a dozen federal agencies, according to the Post.
Agencies visited by DOGE so far include the Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service and the departments of Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, and Health and Human Services, the Post reported, citing four people familiar with the matter.
“At the same time, Musk and Ramaswamy have significantly stepped up hiring for their new entity, with more than 50 staffers already working out of the offices of SpaceX, Musk’s rocket-building company, in downtown Washington,” the Post reported.
Federal bureaucrats apparently aren’t taking the DOGE visits well.
“Two government employees said remarks Musk and Ramaswamy have made about the civil service have made them wary of the entire DOGE effort. Longtime civil servants — some who have built their careers learning the intricacies of the federal bureaucracy — are an awkward fit with Silicon Valley’s fast-moving and disruptive culture,” the Post reported.
“Many in Washington regard the tech entrepreneurs as arrogant or naive about the complexity of reining in government.”
The Post added that DOGE is also encountering a reluctance among congressional Republicans to approve deep budget cuts.
It’s not clear what impact DOGE will have, as it holds no constitutional or legal authority. As the Post noted, it’s unclear who is paying the salaries of DOGE staffers or exactly how they work with Trump’s formal transition team.
Musk reportedly remains optimistic.
“I think we’ll try for $2 trillion. I think that’s like the best-case outcome,” he reportedly said Wednesday. “But I do think that you kind of have to have some overage. I think if we try for $2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting $1 [trillion].”
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
