Musk Now Predicts DOGE Will Reach 15% Of $1T Goal

The New York Times reports:

Last week, Elon Musk indicated for the first time that his Department of Government Efficiency was falling short of its goal. He previously said his powerful budget-cutting team could reduce the next fiscal year’s federal budget by $1 trillion, and do it by Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year. Instead, in a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Mr. Musk said that he anticipated the group would save about $150 billion, 85 percent less than its objective.

Even that figure may be too high, according to a New York Times analysis of DOGE’s claims. That’s because, when Mr. Musk’s group tallies up its savings so far, it inflates its progress by including billion-dollar errors, by counting spending that will not happen in the next fiscal year — and by making guesses about spending that might not happen at all. One of the group’s largest claims, in fact, involves canceling a contract that did not exist.

Read the full article.

NEW: @doge is falling far short of its goals — Musk said this week it would achieve just 15% of the cuts it promised next year.

But even *that* over-states its progress, b/c the group’s numbers are inflated by billions of errors & guesswork.https://t.co/mjV998yOIn

— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) April 13, 2025