Billionaire Elon Musk waves to the crowd as he exits the stage during a town hall on Sunday, March 30, 2025, at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay, Wis. Musk held the event to drive turnout for Tuesday’s state Supreme Court election between Brad Schimel and Susan Crawford. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Washington D.C. – Elon Musk has doubled down on his commitment to reduce U.S. government spending by $1 trillion, a move he believes could dramatically reduce the federal budget deficit and bring the U.S. closer to stabilizing its debt relative to the size of the economy. During an appearance on Fox News Thursday evening, Musk reiterated his goal of cutting federal spending by 15%, emphasizing that it could be achieved through eliminating waste and fraud.
“Our goal is to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars,” Musk said during the interview. “A lot of that can be achieved by cutting waste and fraud — it seems really quite achievable.” Musk pointed to specific examples of government waste, including a survey conducted by the Interior Department at the cost of $830 million, which he argued could have been completed for just $10,000 by another vendor.
Musk’s push for greater government efficiency is being spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a department he heads. According to DOGE’s website, it has saved $130 billion in federal expenditures since its inception, claiming savings of approximately $2 billion per day since President Donald Trump’s administration. Musk’s target of cutting $4 billion per day in federal spending was also cited during the interview, a number that some have found difficult to verify.
The credibility of Musk’s claims, however, has been questioned. Investigative reporters have pointed out that DOGE’s website has removed identifying federal information, making it harder to verify the savings Musk has claimed. Several examples, including a canceled $1.9 trillion IT modernization contract, have also been disputed. While DOGE lists this as one of its major savings, the contractor involved in the project told the New York Times that the contract was canceled under President Joe Biden’s administration, raising further questions about the accuracy of DOGE’s figures.
Moreover, broader federal spending data appears to challenge the narrative of significant savings. According to the Hamilton Project, an economic-policy think tank, federal spending has actually increased by 7.4% year over year, with $1.893 trillion spent in 2025 by March 26, compared to $1.763 trillion at the same point last year. Federal spending under the Biden administration’s continuing budget resolution has largely remained at last year’s levels, with no major reductions in sight despite claims of substantial cuts.
Wendy Edelberg, former chief economist at the Congressional Budget Office, noted that while cuts to federal spending were promised, most of the proposed reductions appear to be modest in scope. “You would expect to see big decreases relative to last year, but it’s less surprising when you consider that the cuts discussed are relatively small,” she said.
As of now, the impact of Musk’s proposed cuts remains unclear, with no significant reductions visible in federal spending to date.
