Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, recently admitted that his ambitious plan to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget might not happen after all. This backpedaling marks yet another unfulfilled promise from Musk and his partner in governance, Donald Trump, who had been championing bold reforms under their proposed advisory group, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Speaking in an interview with political strategist Mark Penn on X, Musk conceded that his team could likely achieve only half of the original target. “I think if we try for $2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting $1 [trillion],” Musk said. He framed the revised goal as a significant achievement, adding, “If we can drop the budget deficit from $2 trillion to $1 trillion and free up the economy to have additional growth… then there will be no inflation.”
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This marks a significant downgrade from the “at least $2 trillion” Musk had promised at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally in October. Back then, Musk had been optimistic, stating, “I think we’ll try for $2 trillion. I think that’s the best-case outcome.” However, in his recent interview, Musk admitted that his team is now aiming for a more modest target, acknowledging that a $1 trillion reduction is the more achievable goal.
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While Musk’s optimism shines through, the reality is far more complex. The federal budget for fiscal year 2024 stands at $6.75 trillion. A large portion of this is allocated to programs like Social Security, Medicare, defense, and debt servicing—areas that are politically and legally difficult to reduce. Experts were skeptical from the start, questioning whether the numbers Musk pitched were achievable.
Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, voiced her doubts back in November. “Our federal budget is about $7 trillion a year… It would be unimaginable that we could find $2 trillion in savings out of seven in one year,” she said in an NPR interview. Even Musk’s revised target of $1 trillion faces daunting challenges. Discretionary spending, the portion of the budget Congress can adjust annually, is only $1.7 trillion. More than half of that is earmarked for defense, leaving little room for maneuvering.
Despite these constraints, Musk remained vague on where cuts might occur. “It’s a very target-rich environment for saving money,” he said, comparing the budget to “a room full of targets—you could close your eyes and you can’t miss.” This analogy did little to inspire confidence among policymakers and analysts. Steve Womack, a Republican from Arkansas who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, stressed how difficult such cuts would be. “It would be very difficult to do that [$2 trillion cut] without cutting national security,” he told CNBC.
Achieving even $1 trillion in savings would likely require reductions to mandatory spending programs like Medicaid or significant changes to entitlement programs—a politically risky move that could alienate voters. Musk himself acknowledged in October that the cuts could bring “hardship” to Americans, further complicating his proposal.
This isn’t the first time Musk and Trump have had to walk back their promises. Trump, who had campaigned on lowering grocery prices, recently admitted the challenge of reversing inflation. “It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard,” Trump told Time magazine. While Musk’s efforts to address the national deficit are ambitious, they highlight the complexities of federal budgeting. Programs like Medicare and Social Security serve millions of Americans, making them politically untouchable. Meanwhile, defense spending, which constitutes a significant part of the discretionary budget, is seen as critical to national security.
Many people might feel upset by these broken promises. According to Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, in a January 2023 analysis, balancing the budget in ten years would require cutting spending by about one-quarter. Even then, emergencies or unexpected events could make it even harder.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
