Via the New York Post: With DOGE, Trump Can Seize His Cost-Cutting Mandate — But It’ll Take Courage

Via the New York Post: With DOGE, Trump Can Seize His Cost-Cutting Mandate - But It'll Take Courage

Last week, President-elect Donald Trump appointed business leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where they will be tasked with working to "dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."

In a recent New York Post op-ed, John Hart, CEO of Open the Books, notes that reining-in wasteful government spending is paramount to returning the United States to the path of economic prosperity. Top of the agenda for DOGE will be conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for drastic reforms.

Word on the Street:

Via the New York Post:

• "Trump can deliver on his promises to tamp down inflation, stimulate growth and shift power away from Washington and back to We the People."
  
  
• "While Kamala Harris sold price controls during the campaign's home stretch, Trump wisely enlisted Musk to rail against wasteful spending."
  
  
• "In announcing DOGE, the president-elect said he aimed to reorganize federal agencies, "slash excess regulations" and "drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 trillion of government spending."
  
  
• "That goal isn't far off the audacious target offered by President Ronald Reagan's Grace Commission 40 years ago, which estimated that one-third of all federal income tax revenue was being wasted."
  
  
• "Streamlining government isn't anti-government; it's an essential way to serve taxpayers by improving the quality of services."
  
  
• "Musk and Ramaswamy plan to crowdsource wasteful spending nominations, keep a leaderboard of worst waste offenses, and offer "maximum transparency" as they work."
  
  
• "After the historic inflationary spending of the Biden era, Trump has a decisive mandate to do more for taxpayers with less. Now he has more tools than ever before."

The Bottom Line:

In a recent statement, Chairman Arrington praised the commission, saying, "This country desperately needs bold leadership to restore fiscal sanity in our nation's capital and reverse the curse of a looming debt crisis… with help from Elon and Vivek, I like our chances!"

While past presidents have promised broad spending cuts, achieving them requires courage and leadership. With the national debt approaching $36 trillion, it's time for Washington to stop misusing future generation's money and get serious about reining in waste.

Voters gave President Trump and Congressional Republicans a mandate to govern. DOGE is the first step in meeting that obligation and will be essential for putting America back on a path to fiscal sustainability.