There is little chance Elon Musk will save us from debt. It's all a show. | Opinion
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are only here to help Donald Trump score easy political points. Not to govern.
One of the most “disruptive” moves that President-elect Donald Trump has made leading into his new administration is the appointment of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
I agree that wasteful government spending is one of the top issues facing our country, and I am waiting for the day that Republicans finally get serious about addressing America's rising debt.
I wish more than most that the GOP would begin taking our government spending problem seriously, but due to their limited influence and Trump's track record on the issue, I am skeptical that Musk and Ramaswamy will be the ones to finally do so.
DOGE's influence may be hindered by budget process
Behind the silly acronym is the purported goal of curbing wasteful government spending. Despite the name, DOGE is not an actual department of government but rather an advisory body for Trump.
In their role as advisers, Musk and Ramaswamy have limited influence on the actual final budget.
For those unfamiliar with the U.S. budget process, the president’s role is to submit a preliminary proposal to Congress early in the year. Congress is under no obligation to follow that proposal, but with majorities in both bodies, the GOP is likely to follow Trump’s recommendations closely.
Even so, it's unlikely that radical change on the issue of spending will happen. Neither party has shown any motivation to reduce the deficit, opting to instead simply spend when in power and complain about spending when not.
Those who are looking for Musk to emulate the strategy of Argentine President Javier Milei, who has slashed entire government departments on his quest to deliver his nation's first budget surplus in a dozen years, should temper expectations.
Many warn of the GOP’s desire to eliminate federal departments, such as the Department of Education. But that seems implausible. I doubt that a majority of either body will slash departments. Recent attempts to do so resulted in Republican opposition. There is also not a pathway to circumvent a filibuster, which Democrats would be sure to employ.
The limited power that Musk actually has is likely to produce the same result as the GOP for the past several elections: promises of fiscal responsibility that lead to no such progress.
The impact of DOGE will be a part of the culture war
In all likelihood, rather than actual progress being made on our dire government spending problem, my fear is that any cuts made will likely be insignificant against the budget and function more as culture war points rather than meaningful slashes.
As much as Trump wants to claim that he will address government pork, his first term gave no indication that he will actually do so. Trump approved $8.4 trillion of new borrowing over 10 years. Even if you take away pandemic-related debt, he approved $4.8 trillion worth of new debt, which eclipses President Joe Biden’s net $4.3 trillion of borrowing over a decade.
Regardless of Musk and Ramaswamy's recommendations, Trump is under no obligation to listen, and he will likely only slash budgets related to issues that help him score political wins.
Trump’s budget could target things like foreign aid and green energy subsidies ‒ cuts that would win among his constituents but don’t actually contribute that much to the deficit in the grand scheme of things.
Trump says he doesn't plan to touch Social Security or Medicare, which make up nearly half of the federal budget.
Trump also promises to cut taxes, which is likely to offset all or most of any budget cuts he is actually able to accomplish.
None of these factors build a coherent strategy to balance the budget, and in all likelihood Trump’s second term will do the same as his first, making things worse.
I truly hope that Trump, Musk and Ramaswamy make me eat my words. I hope that somebody finally addresses the mounting budget crisis, but I am skeptical that this is the group to do it.
Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for Paste BN and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.