The incoming heads of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) have an ambitious plan of slashing federal agencies’ spending by $2 trillion, locking in its crosshairs several agencies for sweeping budget cuts. One of the D.O.G.E. leaders, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, said that he targets to reduce federal spending on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Targeting The IRS The dynamic duo of Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy vowed to orchestrate a spending cut on federal agencies , aiming to reduce the federal budget by $2 trillion. The D.O.G.E. leaders said that they will pursue budget cuts on federal agencies which they consider as bloated or outdated. Musk said that one of these government agencies is the IRS, saying, “The IRS is a mess.” The Tesla CEO pointed out that the IRS has been plagued with inefficiency and scandals for years while suggesting a free tax filing app and the conduct of an audit. He also wanted to lay off a huge number of employees, reducing what he believed was “administrative overgrowth.” In a poll on X, Musk asked the netizens what the budget of the IRS should be. The federal agency is requesting an additional $20 billion in funds. The IRS just said it wants $20B more money. Do you think it’s budget should be: — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 27, 2024 “The IRS just said it wants $20B more money. Do you think its budget should be: Increased, Same, Decreased, Deleted,” he said. The poll results showed that 60.6% of the respondents wanted to delete the IRS budget while 29.9% voted to decrease the budget. Meanwhile, 5.6% said they are in favor of increasing the budget while 3.9% agreed that it should remain the same. Other Agencies In The Crosshair Musk and Vivek are eyeing to scrutinize the budget of multiple federal agencies to cut government spending. The duo also targets another watchdog agency for financial practices, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Musk recommended deleting the CFPB, raising concerns about the future of the agency. For Vivek, he wanted “mass reductions” in the Department of Education. President-elect Donald Trump has been calling for the dismantling of the department for many years now and it seems that it will happen in his return to the White House. Vivek Eyes Budget Cut On Defense Vivek also slammed the enormous budget of the Department of Defense, saying that the Pentagon wastes around $125 billion annually on bureaucracy. However, the $3.6 billion defense contract of the Musk-owned SpaceX seems to be exempted from the budget-slashing program of D.O.G.E. Several critics have argued that D.O.G.E.’s functions overlap with other existing agencies, claiming that the government efficiency department might only be a redundancy. The Role Of D.O.G.E. D.O.G.E. is meant to make government work easier. The name is a reference to Dogecoin, which shows how important Musk is in Trump’s government. Musk’s role in this department has caused people to wonder how it might affect Dogecoin’s value and reputation in the market. After Trump won the election, Dogecoin’s value went up a lot. This was because Musk is working with the new government and has a history of promoting the cryptocurrency. Reports say that talking about D.O.G.E. at campaign meetings has caused Dogecoin prices to rise. This shows that there is a direct link between political events and how the meme coin market reacts to them. Featured image from Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum, chart from TradingView
