Elon Musk takes Trump’s “government efficiency” to the US Congress

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

The two businessmen have been appointed by Trump to be part of a task force that aims to carry out a deep review of the US government, which spent $6.8 trillion in the last fiscal year.

Musk has set a savings goal of $2 trillion, but has not said whether it will be achieved in one year or a longer period. The two heads of the Department of Government Efficiency have called for laying off thousands of federal workers, cutting regulations and eliminating programs whose authorization has expired, such as health care for veterans.

However, that might be easier said than done. Any changes to veterans benefits or other popular programs that serve millions of Americans would likely encounter strong opposition, and efforts to reduce the workforce could upend everything from law enforcement to air traffic control.

Musk, holding a small child by the hand, walked through the halls of the Capitol, near the Senate chamber, surrounded by police officers, journalists and photographers.

After being peppered with questions about whether he would support cuts to entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid and cuts to defense, Musk finally responded: “I think we have to make sure we spend public money well.”

Asked about eliminating tax credits for electric vehicles, Musk said: “I think we should get rid of all the credits.”

Ramaswamay met separately with a group of Republican senators, including Thom Tillis, who said he believed there were “tens of billions of dollars” in spending that could be recovered quickly.

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

Republicans will control both chambers of Congress and the White House next year, but could struggle to achieve significant reductions.

While lawmakers approve about $1.7 trillion in defense and domestic programs each year, the bulk of federal spending consists of health care programs, pensions and other benefits that are left out of the annual budget process. Lawmakers have no control over interest payments, which are projected to top $1 trillion this fiscal year.

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