Elon Musk brings Trump's government efficiency push to Capitol Hill

Elon Musk walks on Capitol Hill on the day of a meeting with Senate Republican Leader-elect John Thune (R-SD), in Washington, U.S. December 5, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

WASHINGTON -Billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy met on Thursday with Republican lawmakers whose support they will need to win the sweeping spending cuts that President-elect Donald Trump has asked them to find.

Trump has named two entrepreneurs to a task force that aims for a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. government, which spent $6.8 trillion in the most recent fiscal year. Musk has set a target of $2 trillion in savings, though he has not said whether that would come in a single year or over a longer period.

The two chairs of the Department of Government Efficiency have called for firing thousands of federal workers, slashing regulations and eliminating programs whose authorization has expired, such as veterans' healthcare.

That could be easier said than done. Any changes to veterans' benefits or other popular programs that serve millions of Americans would likely encounter fierce blowback, and efforts to thin the workforce could disrupt everything from law enforcement to air traffic control.

"We want to help him in any way that we can. He's got, obviously, a big mission. But we all think the effort they're undertaking is long overdue," Senator John Thune, who will lead the Republican majority next year, told reporters after meeting with Musk.

Musk, who earlier rushed through the Capitol's crowded corridors clutching the hand of a small child, offered few details on how he will try to accomplish his sweeping cost-cutting goals.

"I think we just need to make sure we spend the public's money well," said Musk.

The billionaire CEO of electric car maker Tesla and SpaceX addressed only one specific policy specific, when asked about electric vehicle tax credits, responding: "I think we should get rid of all credits." 

Musk's companies benefit from federal contracts and tax breaks and also are subject to regulatory oversight, raising concerns that his involvement with the efficiency panel creates a conflict of interest.

Ramaswamy met separately with a group of Senate Republicans including Thom Tillis, who said afterward they discussed actions the Trump administration could take on its own, rather than those that would require legislation. "Is this an administrative action that doesn't require congressional approval? Rock on. Do it now or do it after Jan. 20," he told reporters.

As co-chairs of the efficiency task force, Musk and Ramaswamy, a former biotech executive, would likely have to work with Congress to secure significant reductions.

REPUBLICAN TRIFECTA

Republicans will control both chambers of Congress and the White House next year, but they may struggle to win significant reductions. While lawmakers sign off on roughly $1.7 trillion in defense and domestic programs each year, most federal spending consists of health, pension and other benefit programs that lie outside of the annual budget process. Lawmakers also have no control over interest payments, which are projected to top $1 trillion in this fiscal year.

Republican lawmakers have said they are eager to cooperate. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a hard-right firebrand, will chair a House of Representatives panel to work with Musk and Ramaswamy, and Senate lawmakers have also expressed openness to the idea. Republicans secured limited spending cuts in a 2023 showdown with Democratic President Joe Biden but have been unable to agree on further reductions since then.

Trump has broken with former Republican orthodoxy by saying he will not cut benefits for the Social Security pension plan or the Medicare health plan for seniors, which together account for more than one-third of federal spending. 

Trump showed little interest in spending cuts during his first 2017-2021 term in office, when federal expenditures grew from $4 trillion to $6.2 trillion. Congress did not act on his proposal to eliminate more than a dozen small government agencies and failed to repeal Democratic President Barack Obama's signature Affordable Care Act, a central goal of the party.

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan, David Morgan and Richard Cowan, additional reporting by Gabriella Borter; Editing by Scott Malone, Jonathan Oatis and Diane Craft)