Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is urging Elon Musk to stick with his original objective to cut $2 trillion in wasteful government spending.
“After promising his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would cut $2 trillion in government waste, Musk’s ambition is rapidly shrinking. Within weeks, he cut his goal in half to $1 trillion – all before he’s actually cut a single dollar. I don’t want Musk to fold so quickly,” Warren wrote in a Tuesday Fox News op-ed.
“I crunched the numbers and found $2 trillion that we could cut over the next 10 years by focusing on the guys who are getting rich off our government,” she added.
She noted these cost-cutting efforts don’t have to be a partisan issue. Warren urged President Trump and Musk to cut wasteful spending with “courage” amid the consideration of her proposals.
“If Musk and Trump have the courage to cut this waste, I’ve got a plan and 30 specific recommendations to get it done,” she concluded.
Her suggestions were outlined in a Thursday letter to Musk, calling on officials to shy away from “cold-hearted cruelty” cuts to essential services but rather focus on reform for Department of Defense (DoD) spending and eradicating health care profiteering.
“The Air Force pays over 7,500% more on soap dispensers than regular Americans do. The Army pays $71 for pins that should cost less than a nickel. Spending is so out of control at DoD that it is the only agency in government that cannot pass a simple audit,” Warren wrote.
“American taxpayers are sick of getting scammed by overpaid military contractors,” she continued.
Warren also proposed that Medicare Advantage program be regulated more, noting that commission estimates that private insurers overcharged tax payers by nearly $83 billion last year.
“Taxpayers are also getting swindled by for-profit health insurance companies. Right now, about half of all seniors have been lured into a privatized Medicare program called Medicare Advantage,” the Massachusetts senator stated. “This program was started to lower costs for seniors, but over time the insurers figured out how to boost their profits by manipulating claims and denying coverage.”
“Rooting out their dirty tactics could save more than a trillion dollars over ten years without cutting Medicare benefits by one penny,” she added.
