Elon Musk’s Doge savings target
Elon Musk’s Doge savings goal Elon Musk seemed to significantly reduce DOGE’s savings target, estimating $150 billion for the year well below his previous trillion-dollar estimate. But doubts linger on the team’s claimed savings, with detractors citing inflated amounts, withdrawn claims, and an expanding roster of contentious reductions.
Elon Musk said DOGE is sharply curtailing its savings goals. During a cabinet session on Thursday, Musk informed Trump the group anticipated cutting $150 billion from the federal budget during the fiscal year, which spans from the start of October 2025 through September 2026.
I’m glad to report that we project ’26 savings from waste and fraud reduction of $150 billion,” Musk informed Trump in the meeting. The richest person in the world averred that the reductions “will actually lead to better services for the American people.
Musk, who has become the public face of the DOGE crew, Previous estimates put the savings at nearly $1 trillion, while during campaign appearances, Musk went even further, suggesting it could reach as high as $2 trillion. Elon Musk’s Doge savings goal
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reports saving $160 billion by cutting down on wasteful and corrupt government spending. However, a nonpartisan research and advocacy group estimates that DOGE’s efforts themselves may cost taxpayers about $135 billion this year.
The review aims to count the costs of placing tens of thousands of government employees on leave with pay, rehiring inadvertently terminated workers and lost productivity, said the Partnership for Public Service (PSP), a nonpartisan non-profit that specializes in the federal workforce.
PSP’s estimate is derived from the $270 billion in annual compensation expenses of the federal workforce, determining the cost of DOGE’s actions, ranging from paid leave to productivity losses. The $135 billion taxpayer cost does not consider the cost of defending several lawsuits contesting DOGE’s actions, or the effect of quantified lost tax revenues due to IRS staff reductions. Elon Musk’s Doge savings goal
DOGE has tried to cut federal spending by calling on government employees to take a deferred resignation package, which enabled numerous employees to receive full pay and benefits until September without working. In addition, 24,000 government workers who were dismissed in the name of reform have now been reemployed following a court decision. Elon Musk’s Doge savings goal
Other agencies have also rehired some employees after mistakenly letting them go, including bird flu specialists who were let go by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Federal employees have even been tasked with activities like recording their weekly accomplishments, which has reduced productivity, Partnership for Public Service President Max Stier said to CBS MoneyWatch. Elon Musk’s Doge savings goal
“We haven’t really seen a focus on the waste [DOGE] is generating,” Stier said of his group’s choice to study the costs of DOGE’s reductions. “This is an initiative that was developed to fight waste, but we were observing the opposite.”
“Eventually it’s the public who will be paying for this,” he said, adding that he anticipates the taxpayers expense to increase following other DOGE reductions.
The White House objected to the analysis. Elon Musk’s Doge savings goal
“The persistent efforts to plant seeds of doubt on the incredible achievements of this unprecedented effort to make government more efficient say more about the illegitimacy of those selling these lies than good work of DOGE,” said White House spokesman Harrison Fields. “The American people are in agreement with the president’s mission and will not be influenced by more lies from the legacy media.”
In the meantime, DOGE’s campaign is not swaying most voters, with a new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll discovering that 57% of Americans are not approving of how Musk is doing his job in the Trump administration. Approximately 6 out of 10 stated they’re concerned President Trump will do too much to reduce the size and place of the federal government, the poll discovered.
The comments came during an eventful appearance that saw Trump and Musk take questions for nearly an hour in the Oval Office on everything from tariffs to Brigitte Macron to Musk’s alleged drug use.
It was all part of a crazy week of news for the automaker and CEO, who seemed in Washington to wrap up his official stint there and bring his focus back to his companies, although Musk also vowed Friday that he would continue to be an adviser and a friend to Trump.
Questionable numbers
For DOGE, Musk also provided a near-term estimate of savings on Friday of the variance between this year and next year, indicating that the difference “will likely exceed 200 billion soon.”
DOGE’s own website now claims to have discovered $175 billion in savings, but it’s supported by numbers that a Yahoo Finance analysis and other outside studies have determined to be riddled with flaws — prompting most to estimate actual savings are much lower. Elon Musk’s Doge savings goal