Elon Musk Surprises With $150 Billion Budget Cut Goal, Dramatically Scaling Back Earlier Trillion-Dollar Promises
In a surprising turn of events, Elon Musk has significantly lowered expectations for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) savings target to $150 billion for fiscal year 2026 – a fraction of his previous trillion-dollar projections.
The announcement came during a Thursday cabinet meeting with President Trump where Musk outlined the group’s fiscal goals.
“I’m excited to announce that we anticipate savings in ’26 from reduction of waste and fraud by $150 billion,” Musk told Trump during the meeting. The tech billionaire added that these cuts “will actually result in better services for the American people.”
The revised figure represents a dramatic reduction from Musk’s earlier statements. As the public face of DOGE, he had previously projected savings as high as $1 trillion, and even suggested a staggering $2 trillion figure during campaign appearances.
On DOGE’s website, which displays a sample of canceled contracts, grants and leases, the team claims to have already saved an estimated $150 billion.
It remains unclear whether Musk’s statement indicates this is the final goal or merely what has been identified so far.
When contacted by Fortune, the White House did not immediately respond, though a White House official reportedly told the New York Times that “$1 trillion was still the goal.”
President Trump expressed satisfaction with DOGE’s efforts during the cabinet meeting, telling Musk, “Your people are fantastic. In fact, hopefully, they will stay around for the long haul.”
Musk’s role at the White House, however, is scheduled to end in May when his 130-day period as a special government employee concludes.
Questions about the accuracy of DOGE’s savings claims have emerged as the team’s website has faced multiple issues.
Fortune reported that several contracts have been deleted from its “wall of receipts” following media reports that undermined some claims. In one notable instance, DOGE was forced to revise its largest reported contract savings from $8 billion to $8 million after the vendor explained that the larger figure was likely a clerical error.
Another significant savings claim of $1.9 billion, attributed to canceling a Treasury Department contract with Centennial Technologies, faced scrutiny when the company reportedly told the Times that the deal had already been terminated during the Biden administration, well before DOGE’s creation. This claim was temporarily removed following media coverage but has since reappeared.
Further casting doubt on the numbers, DOGE staff reportedly quietly removed over 1,000 contract cancellations from its records last month, eliminating approximately $4 billion in previously reported savings.
While Musk has described DOGE’s efforts as “maximally transparent,” the team has published only about a third of its claimed cuts, making thorough verification difficult.
Some of DOGE’s initiatives have proven controversial, including the shutdown of USAID and proposed changes to Social Security that experts warn could function as a “backdoor” method to reduce payments.
As Musk approaches the end of his White House tenure, the true impact and scope of DOGE’s budget-cutting measures remain to be seen.
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