Elon Musk, appointed by US President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), admitted on Wednesday that the agency could have been more effective in its bid to downsize government operations.
DOGE has reportedly saved $160 billion from the government apparatus so far, considerably less than the $2 trillion he initially promised before scaling down that target to $1 trillion.
Musk acknowledged that DOGE has yet to meet its self-imposed targets. “In the grand scheme of things, I think we’ve been effective. Not as effective as I’d like,” he said, “but we’ve made progress.”
Despite this, Musk, who also heads Tesla and SpaceX, remains confident that the desired savings can eventually be achieved, though he anticipates significant opposition, even from within the cabinet.
There’s still a long way to go, he said, adding: “It comes down to how much pain the cabinet and Congress are willing to endure. It’s possible, but requires dealing with many complaints.”
So far, roughly 1% of federal employees—around 20,000 people—have been laid off, according to Musk.
The billionaire recently announced his plans to focus more on Tesla from early May, dedicating only one or two days a week to DOGE. However, he assured that DOGE’s mission would continue..”
