Elon Musk’s DOGE project has been making waves, and not just for fun. In just one month, it reportedly saved taxpayers a jaw-dropping $55 billion. How? By cutting waste, canceling unnecessary contracts, and cracking down on fraud.
Some people are cheering. Others, not so much. The whole thing fits right into Trump’s mission to shrink government spending, but it’s definitely got people talking.
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Trump’s team says they saved $55 billion in one month
On Tuesday, Elon Musk’s DOGE team made a big announcement: Trump’s administration had slashed a whopping $55 billion from government spending in under a month.
“DOGE’s total estimated savings are $55 billion,” read a message on the official doge.gov website, citing data since February 17.
They cut costs by removing fraud and canceling contracts
The savings came from all over — cutting out fraud, shutting down contracts and leases, even selling off assets.
The group — known as the ‘nerd army’ — also axed grants, laid off government workers, restructured programs, and tweaked regulations to trim down expenses.
The biggest cuts affected key government agencies
Most of the budget-slashing happened in some major agencies: USAID, the Department of Education, the Office of Personnel Management, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Agriculture.
Musk’s role in the cuts has caused controversy
Musk and his DOGE project have been all over the news, but not everyone is thrilled. While some celebrate the crackdown on wasteful spending, angry protests have erupted from government workers and Democrats.
Many critics argue that Musk, who isn’t an elected official, shouldn’t have access to sensitive government data at all.
Some of the biggest cost cuts were highly publicized
The cuts included some eye-catching moves — millions of dollars were saved by canceling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training contracts, along with halting subscriptions to Politico and other news outlets.
Trump defends Musk and says they talk often
Trump isn’t backing down. In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, he made it clear that he and Musk talk regularly, and he isn’t falling for the media’s attempts to drive a wedge between them.
“It’s obvious, they’re so bad at it. I used to think they were good at it but they’re bad at it, because if they were good at I wouldn’t be president,” he said.
The White House clarifies Musk’s government role
The White House had to step in and clear things up. In official court papers, they made it clear that while Musk is a “senior adviser to the president,” he is not the “U.S. DOGE Service Administrator.”
“In his role as senior advisor to the president, Mr. Musk has no greater authority than other senior White House advisors,” the court filing noted, adding that he had “no actual or formal authority” to make government decisions by himself.
Trump says these cuts are part of his mandate
Trump stands by the cuts, saying they’re exactly what he was elected to do.
“We got elected to, among other things, find all of this fraud, abuse, all of this horrible stuff going on,” he said in the Oval Office last week.
The numbers are big, and so is the controversy. The conversation around DOGE is definitely not slowing down.
