November 20, local time, american entrepreneur Ellon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Wiewecke Ramaswamy detailed their plans for reforming the federal government in a Wall Street Journal column, these include large-scale cuts in federal agencies and cuts in subsidies to related organizations.
On November 12, local time, president-elect Donald Trump announced that musk and Ramaswamy would jointly lead the proposed “Department of Government Efficiency” after he became president, it would“Pave the way for dismantling government bureaucracies, cutting redundant regulations and wasteful spending, and restructuring federal agencies”.
“We will cut costs.”
“We are entrepreneurs, not politicians, and we will serve as external volunteers, not federal officials or employees… we will cut costs,” musk and Ramaswamy wrote
It said it was helping Donald Trump’s transition team identify and hire a leaner team of small-government reformers. The team will work closely with the White House Office of Management and Budget in the new administration. Musk and Ramaswamy will advise the efficiency ministry at every step to achieve three main reforms: deregulation, reduced administration and cost savings. In addition, special emphasis will be placed on bringing about change through administrative action on the basis of existing legislation rather than the adoption of new laws.
Massive downsizing of federal agencies
The article said the Department for government efficiency intended to make large-scale cuts to federal agencies.
“Significant reductions in federal regulations provide the logical basis for massive layoffs across the federal bureaucracy,” the two write. The Ministry of government efficiency will determine the minimum number of employees required by each agency to perform its constitutionally permitted and legally mandated functions. The number of federal employees to be cut should be at least proportional to the number of federal regulations that have been repealed: not only can fewer employees enforce fewer regulations, but the agency will enact fewer regulations once its scope of authority is properly limited.”
They said the unit would help the sacked officials make the transition to the private sector. The president could use existing laws to encourage them to take early retirement and voluntarily pay severance so they could leave office“With dignity”.
It added that“From mass layoffs to the relocation of federal agencies from the Washington area, these new rules will limit the excessive growth of the executive branch.” It also suggested changes to telecommuting, they said it would“Trigger a wave of voluntary departures”, which they“Welcomed”.
The article estimated that“$500 billion” in federal spending could be quickly reduced by cutting subsidies to organizations such as public broadcasting and international organizations.
The ministry’s mission will end on July 4, the 2026 said.
The new division will send“Shockwaves through the system.”
According to Elon Musk, the new efficiency ministry will send “Shockwaves through the system”, affecting anyone involved in government waste.
Musk said in October that he would slash government spending“By at least $2,000 bn from the federal budget”. Elon Musk also said he wanted to streamline the government, and he supported cutting the number of federal agencies by about 75 percent, “Leaving 99 out of some 428.”.
Bloomberg
Bloomberg points out, however, that Elon Musk’s real expectation after the creation of the efficiency ministry was that the federal government would not interfere with his cause. He wants the government to approve Tesla’s self-driving taxi business, legalize brain-computer implants at Neuralink, NASA’s new Mars mission and use his SpaceX to launch rockets, and, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also needs to approve full coverage of Starlink in rural and Urban America.