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For its entire history, the conservative movement has vowed to limit the federal government.
Have there been some successes? On occasion. Has the government grown exponentially since the end of World War II? Without question.
Will Donald Trump be the Republican president who finally turns this around?
Maybe.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will be the heads of a new federal agency to be called the Department of Government Efficiency.
Or DOGE.
Trump's statement says the duo are being hired to “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure Federal Agencies."
Trump further explains that the duo will partner with the White House Office of Management and Budget “to drive large scale structural reform.”
Trump said in his statement, “I look forward to Elon and Vivek making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy with an eye on efficiency and, at the same time, making life better for all Americans. Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 Trillion Dollars of Government Spending."
Musk said in a response, “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!”
During a 2024 campaign rally, Musk described what such an agency might do.
“I mean, at the end of the day, you’re being taxed. You’re being taxed. All government spending is taxation. So whether it’s direct taxation or all government spending, it either becomes inflation or it’s direct taxation,” Musk said.
Musk added, “Your money is being wasted, and the Department of Government Efficiency is going to fix that. We’re going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook."
Will DOGE be successful in substantially shrinking the federal government. Time will tell.
Trump is a friend and fan of new Argentinian President Javier Milei who has already made significant cuts to his country's government, including getting rid of their version of the IRS.
Conservatives shouldn't necessarily expect for Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to go that far, but they should hope they do go far. The federal government is more bloated than it has ever been, with a $35 trillion national debt to show for it.
Something needs to change. Hopefully now, it will.