Musk told Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” last week that he was confident he would finish most of his stated aim of cutting US$1 trillion in federal spending by the end of his 130 days.
But in a Mar 10 interview with Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow,” when he was asked by host Larry Kudlow, “You going to go another year?” Musk replied, “Yeah, I think so.”
According to the DOGE website, the only official window into its operations, DOGE estimates it has saved US taxpayers US$140 billion as of Apr 2 through a series of actions including workforce reductions, asset sales, and contract cancellations, still far short of Musk’s US$1 trillion goal.
But evidence for the stated savings is often missing, and the website’s calculations have been riddled with errors and corrections.
DOGE’s mandate as a whole is set to continue to Jul 4, 2026. However, many of the top figures in DOGE are tied to Musk and have not said whether they would want to stay on after the departure of the billionaire, who has been the ideological force behind the government overhaul.
There has been growing unease across the US over Musk’s blunt approach to mass layoffs from the government workforce. Nearly 200,000 employees have been fired, earmarked for termination or have accepted buyouts.
Republican lawmakers have faced the wrath of angry voters at unruly town halls, while many of DOGE’s efforts have become the subject of lawsuits.
Tesla dealerships have been vandalized in the US and abroad, and a nationwide protest against DOGE and Trump’s agenda is planned for this Saturday.
