Musk, Ramaswamy Discuss DOGE on Capitol Hill

Above: Elon Musk arrives on Capitol Hill on Dec. 5, 2024. Image copyright: Al Drago/Contributor/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Facts

  • SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy on Thursday met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to discuss plans for the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) they will be co-chairing in the upcoming administration of Pres.-elect Donald Trump.

  • The pair mostly met with lawmakers in closed-door sessions, where they reportedly explained the goal of DOGE and attempted to woo leery lawmakers to help with the task at hand. 


The Spin

Republican narrative

This is an exciting time to be a fiscal conservative or an advocate for small government because DOGE will bring a new era of efficiency for the US government. As explained in these meetings, DOGE has already identified numerous sources of waste that must be eliminated and there are many ways billions of dollars can be cut to make the government work better for its citizens.

Democratic narrative

In many ways, DOGE is already dead. Musk and Ramaswamy have no government or political experience, so they're probably unaware that much federal spending is mandatory, and other spending is politically sensitive. There are definitely ways — many already suggested by the government's accountability office — to cut waste, but the suggested massive cuts are no way to serve the people.


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