Billionaire Elon Musk will head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.

At a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in October, Musk said he could cut the federal budget by at least $2 trillion. According to Reuters, that ambitious goal would exceed the $1.9 trillion in discretionary spending out of the $6.75 trillion in federal spending for the 2024 fiscal year.

What is the goal?

In a statement on November 12, Mr. Donald Trump said the department would work outside the government, “paving the way for the new administration to eliminate bureaucracy, reduce unnecessary regulations, cut wasteful spending and restructure federal agencies.”

Mr Trump also wants to abolish the US Department of Education, giving control to the states. In addition, the president-elect wants to eliminate the "deep state", claiming that long-time federal employees are secretly pursuing their own agendas.

Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk have hinted that DOGE will cut spending significantly. But the US Constitution gives Congress the power to manage the federal budget. Congress has the power to accept or ignore proposals from outside groups like DOGE.

On social network X, the Tesla boss said that "all actions of the Ministry of Government Efficiency will be posted online to achieve maximum transparency".

“Whenever the public thinks we're cutting something important or not cutting back on waste, let us know,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, on November 12, Mr. Ramaswamy said DOGE will “soon mobilize the community” to present evidence of government wastefulness and allegations of fraud.

DOGE may operate under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The 1972 law ensures that parties provide timely, objective, and open advice; it also requires cost controls and recordkeeping.

The Federal Advisory Committee Act currently applies to about 1,000 parties with about 60,000 members advising the president and the executive branch at any given time.

What experience does the leader have?

After acquiring Twitter, Mr. Musk laid off about 3,700 employees. Revenue fell as advertisers migrated off the platform and hundreds of other employees left. He later renamed Twitter X, but the site’s value plummeted.

Mr. Musk has had much more success with SpaceX. The Falcon rocket has reduced launch costs thanks to its reusability. The low cost has opened up opportunities for the company to enter the satellite market, leading to the rapid growth of the Starlink satellite internet network. This product has transformed the traditional satellite industry and helped shape modern military strategies. SpaceX is now a major defense contractor.

Steve Grundman, a former Pentagon official under President Bill Clinton, hopes Musk can apply his SpaceX experience to DOGE.

"The way to save is to get rid of something, but this is a complicated task because you will never find something that is completely useless," he shared.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ramaswamy - founder of pharmaceutical company Roivant Sciences - works with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The businessman accused the FDA of being “corrupt.” In 2023, he wrote on the X platform: “The FDA’s numerous regulations and actions are hypocritical, harmful, and unconstitutional.”

The United States has a precedent for creating such an agency. In February 1982, former President Ronald Reagan announced the creation of a panel of private-sector experts to propose ways to eliminate government inefficiency and waste. In June of that year, the Grace Commission, named after its head, J. Peter Grace, was established.

The Grace Commission issued its report in January 1984 with 2,500 recommendations. But most of the recommendations, especially those calling for Congress to enact legislation, were never implemented.

In March 2017, Trump also signed an executive order to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability, and “eliminate or reorganize unnecessary federal agencies.” He signed another executive order to place task forces and “regulatory reform” officers in agencies. In addition, efforts to eliminate at least 19 agencies during Trump’s first term were unsuccessful.