Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are currently leading a project that sounds like a fever dream from a 2013 internet forum, but the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is very real. It isn't a literal government agency. It’s an advisory group. They have a massive, some would say impossible, goal: slashing $2 trillion from federal spending. That’s roughly one-third of the entire U.S. budget.
Can they do it? Honestly, it’s complicated.
Most people hear "efficiency" and think of cutting paperclip budgets or flying coach. But to get to the DOGE government efficiency savings targets being floated, you have to go much deeper. You have to look at the "fourth branch" of government—the administrative state. This isn't just about waste; it's about the very structure of how Washington functions. Musk has been vocal about his "hardcore" management style at X (formerly Twitter), where he cut about 80% of the staff. He wants to bring that same energy to the federal payroll. It’s a bold move. It’s also one that faces a massive wall of legal and bureaucratic resistance.
The Math Behind the $2 Trillion Target
Let's talk numbers. The U.S. government spent about $6.75 trillion in fiscal year 2024. If DOGE wants to find $2 trillion in savings, they can't just look at "fraud and abuse." They have to touch the "big three": Social Security, Medicare, and Defense. Combined, those make up the vast majority of outlays.
Musk and Ramaswamy have signaled they want to focus on "unconstitutional" spending and bloated agencies. Vivek Ramaswamy has frequently pointed toward the $500+ billion in "expired authorizations"—programs that Congress still funds even though their original legal authorization has lapsed. This includes things like veterans' healthcare and international affairs. It’s a weird quirk of D.C. logic. Technically, these programs shouldn't be getting money, but they do. Every single year.
Why Bureaucracy is the First Target
DOGE isn't just looking at what the government buys. They’re looking at who is doing the buying.
There are over 2 million civilian federal employees. Musk has suggested that many of these roles are redundant or governed by "nonsensical" regulations that slow down progress. He’s obsessed with the "cost per pound" logic he uses at SpaceX. If a rocket costs too much, you find the part that’s expensive and you delete it. Apply that to the Department of Education or the IRS, and you get a glimpse of the DOGE playbook. They want to use AI—naturally—to audit Every. Single. Expenditure.
Imagine an automated system flagging a $500 toilet seat in real-time. That's the vision.
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Real Examples of Potential DOGE Government Efficiency Savings
To understand where the money goes, you have to look at the bizarre stuff. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) releases an annual "Duplication Plan." In their 2024 report, they identified dozens of areas where agencies are doing the exact same thing.
Take "green building" initiatives. There are dozens of programs spread across multiple agencies all trying to solve the same problem. This is a classic DOGE target. Instead of ten offices, you have one. Or zero.
- Improper Payments: The federal government made an estimated $236 billion in "improper payments" in 2023. This is money sent to the wrong person, in the wrong amount, or for the wrong reason.
- The "Use It or Lose It" Spike: Every September, federal agencies go on a spending spree. If they don't spend their entire budget, they worry Congress will give them less next year. DOGE wants to kill this incentive.
- De-masking the Shadow Government: There are thousands of federal rules created by unelected officials. The Supreme Court's recent Loper Bright decision, which overturned "Chevron deference," gives DOGE a massive legal crowbar to pry these regulations apart.
The Legal Reality Check
Here is the part most people get wrong. Musk and Ramaswamy can’t just delete the Department of Education with a tweet. The "Power of the Purse" belongs to Congress. Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution is pretty clear about that.
However, they have a secret weapon: The Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
This law was passed to stop Richard Nixon from refusing to spend money Congress had appropriated. The Trump administration and the DOGE team have suggested they might challenge this law in court. They argue that the President should have the right to not spend money if it’s wasteful. If the Supreme Court agrees, the floodgates for DOGE government efficiency savings open wide. If not, DOGE is mostly just a very loud, very influential suggestion box.
The Human Cost and the Efficiency Paradox
Efficiency sounds great on paper. In practice, it’s messy. When you cut a program, you’re usually cutting someone’s livelihood or a service someone relies on. This is why "efficiency" is the hardest thing to achieve in politics. Every dollar of "waste" is someone else's "income."
Musk’s approach is fundamentally different from traditional "Blue Ribbon Commissions" of the past. Those groups usually wrote a 500-page report that sat on a shelf gathering dust. DOGE is operating in the age of social media and "X." They plan to "rank" the most absurd expenditures publicly. The idea is to use public shame as a catalyst for political change. It’s "The Golden Fleece Award" on steroids.
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Identifying the "Low-Hanging Fruit"
Where does the first trillion come from? It starts with the "back office."
Modernizing federal IT systems is a boring but massive opportunity. Some government agencies are still using COBOL, a programming language from the 1950s. Maintaining these legacy systems is incredibly expensive. By moving to modern, cloud-based architectures—perhaps with some help from the private sector—the government could save billions in operational overhead.
Then there’s the real estate. The federal government is the nation's largest landlord. Since the pandemic, many federal buildings in D.C. are basically ghost towns. Selling off underutilized federal property and ending expensive leases is a core pillar of the DOGE strategy. It’s hard to justify a massive office building for employees who are working from home four days a week.
The Role of Technology and AI
Musk isn't just looking to fire people. He’s looking to automate processes.
In the private sector, AI is being used to handle contract reviews, payroll, and basic procurement. The federal government’s procurement process is a labyrinth of red tape. It can take years just to buy a laptop. DOGE wants to slash these "procurement cycles." If you can buy things faster and cheaper, you don't just save money; you get better results.
Why This Time Might Be Different
We’ve seen "efficiency" drives before. Reagan had the Grace Commission. Bill Clinton had "Reinventing Government" led by Al Gore. Most of them failed to make a dent in the national debt.
So why is there so much hype around DOGE?
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It’s the personalities involved. Musk doesn't care about being liked by the D.C. establishment. He’s already wealthy enough that he can’t be "bought" in the traditional sense. Ramaswamy is a master of the legal and administrative details of the "Deep State." Together, they represent a "pincer movement"—one attacking from the tech/management side, the other from the legal/structural side.
Actionable Insights for Navigating the DOGE Era
Whether you’re a taxpayer, a federal contractor, or just an interested observer, the DOGE era is going to change how money flows in America. Here is how to think about the next 24 months.
Watch the Impoundment Cases
The real battle for DOGE government efficiency savings will happen in the courts, not just on X. If the administration wins the right to "impound" funds, the executive branch gains massive power over the budget. Keep a close eye on any legal challenges to the 1974 Impoundment Control Act.
Expect Volatility in Federal Contracting
If you work for a company that sells to the government, "business as usual" is over. DOGE is going to look for fixed-price contracts rather than "cost-plus" models. Companies that can deliver tech-driven efficiency will win; those that rely on bloated, long-term service contracts should be nervous.
Focus on "Expired Authorizations"
If you want to know what's on the literal chopping block, look up the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) reports on "Expired and Expiring Authorizations." This is the primary list of programs that DOGE considers legally vulnerable. It’s a multi-hundred-billion-dollar roadmap of potential cuts.
Audit Your Own Relationship with Federal Services
As agencies are consolidated or closed, the "way" you interact with the government will change. Expect more digital-first interfaces and fewer "human-in-the-loop" processes. This might mean faster processing for things like passports or permits, but it could also mean less recourse if a "system" makes a mistake.
The road to $2 trillion is paved with political landmines. There are no easy cuts. But for the first time in decades, the people holding the shears aren't interested in the usual D.C. etiquette. They’re looking to disrupt the largest organization on earth. It’s going to be a wild ride.