Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk concluded his time as Doge’s public face at a press conference with President Donald Trump on Monday, leaving a total of $175 billion estimated to be the government’s expenses over the past few months.
According to the DOGE website, savings from government contract reductions, assets sales, identification of inappropriate payments and other cost-saving measures amount to $1,086.96 per individual taxpayer.
The cuts were made across the government and were highlighted by the complete demolition of USAID. There, 83% of the institution’s program and 5,200 contracts were cancelled following the end of a six-week review by DOGE.
Trump discussed some of the other more important cuts at a press conference on Friday.
Flashback: The top 5 wildest moments from Elon Musk’s Doge tenure ends
Tesla CEOs Donald Trump (right) and Elon Musk (Francis Chong/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Image) at a press conference at the White House Oval Office in Washington on May 30, 2025.
“$20 million for Arab Sesame Street in the Middle East,” Trump said. “No one knows what it is. No one could find it. $8 million to make mouse transgender. They spent $8 million to make mouse transgender. And they’re better than many others.
Some outlets, including the New York Times and BBC News, have challenged Doge’s $175 billion estimate and claim the true numbers are small, but Musk told reporters at the oval office on Friday that savings will continue to increase, and is confident that the cut to trillions of dollars will come.
What will be next for Doge after Elon Musk’s departure? “Just starting”
Elon Musk is looking at President Donald Trump as he meets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. (AP/Evan Vucci)
“Doge’s impact will only be stronger,” Musk said. “I liken it to a kind of Buddhist person. It’s like a way of life, so it’s permeated throughout the government. And I’m sure over time we’ll save $1 trillion in waste, $1 trillion in scams, and it’ll cut back on fraud.”
Additionally, Musk said Doge Cuts will soon reach the $200 billion threshold for fiscal year 25-26.
From the start, Doge was hit by a tsunami of negative reports, not only angering Democrats, but also a series of lawsuits.
Doge protesters hold a sign in Parkersburg, West Virginia. (Fox News Digital)
This, coupled with the reality of most of the major end-cuts that require Congressional approval to carry out Congressional approval, has driven out the impact of doges around the edges of large programs and institutions that are likely to be sought to be eliminated entirely.
Click here to get the Fox News app
Musk was asked Friday what his biggest “deficiency” was in Doge.
“It’s mainly a lot of effort,” Musk replied. “It’s not really just one person or council. It’s really going through millions of line items and each says it makes sense or makes no sense.”
“Obviously, when you cut costs, whether you’re receiving the money, whether they’re receiving it or not, they’re not going to complain or hear someone who confesses they received the money inappropriately, when they cut costs. They always say they received the money appropriately for reporting.
Peter Pinedo of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
Andrew Mark Miller is a Fox News reporter. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email him with tips to Andrewmark.miller@fox.com.
Source link
