Musk as Trump’s “Secretary of Cost Reduction” is a great idea

One of the best things Donald Trump could do as president is to reduce excessive government spending and out-of-control budget deficits.

One of the ideas I liked the most from Donald Trump in the election campaign was its proposal to harness the expertise and gift for innovation of billionaire businessman Elon Musk if he were to be elected.

It looks like Trump will make good on his promise to have Musk, who runs Tesla and SpaceX and owns X (formerly Twitter), find ways to make government more efficient. (I know—”government” and “effective” don’t usually go in the same sentence together.)

In a decisive victory, the American people gave Trump the mandate to control inflation. And one of the best ways they could do that is by reducing excessive government spending and out-of-control budget deficits — something the Biden-Harris administration has refused to do.

The federal government has grown to enormous proportions, with a growing number of agencies and regulations that stifle innovation and cost taxpayers absurd amounts of money.

Trump recognized the country’s 36 trillion dollars in debtwhich was about $27 trillion when he left office in 2021. Interest alone on the national debt now costs more than the country spends on defense and Medicare.

Trump too added $8 trillion to the debtbut much of this was due to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in its early stages.

Musk is eager to help and understands the urgency.

“Department for Government Efficiency”? Sounds good to me.

Musk, who has appeared at several of Trump’s campaign rallies, he suggested somewhat jokingly “Department for Government Efficiency” to describe its role in the incoming administration. Trump dropped the title “Secretary for cost reduction.”

However, the goal is an important one. Regardless of the title Musk will receive, his role will be largely an advisory one. Any radical change should go through the powerful Office of Management and Budget as well as Congress.

So in reality, Musk will be the public face of a larger effort to shrink the size of government, Chris Edwards, a federal budget expert at the Cato Institute, told me.

Musk has angered plenty of Democrats in recent years for his takeover of Twitter, as well as his more recent support of Republicans, including Trump.

It is worth noting that he first voted for a Republican in 2022. Musk was driven to the right in part because of progressives’ suppression of free speech — also a big reason he bought Twitter.

Whatever your politics, though, it’s hard to argue with Musk impressive number of achievements. He is a visionary of our time and it takes someone like him to imagine what is possible – either in space travel or the electric car market.

It’s plausible that he could bring that same flair for innovation to the federal government.

“I think we have way too many government agencies” Musk said on Joe Rogan’s podcast last weekbefore the elections. “The federal bureaucracy is out of control, and we just need to bring it down to a sensible level.”

Trump needs to think boldly in Year 1

Cato’s Edwards says Trump and Musk shouldn’t waste time deciding what needs to go, in part because the president will wield the most influence in his first year.

And Edwards believes that any effort that hopes to make a measurable difference in keeping costs under control needs to be bold.

If Trump plans to implement new tax cuts, he will have to offset them with spending cuts elsewhere. Trump should start by hiring experienced people to run his White House budget office.

“I don’t think he has time for a big commission that he’s going to spend months braving,” says Edwards. “They know where the most wasteful programs are. They know that, and I think Trump and his advisers just need to prioritize and then push for the cuts they want.”

Edwards has several recommendations for areas where the Trump administration could identify savings.

Cutting federal aid to state programs, including K-12 education, housing and transit, could save more than $1 trillion a year. Edwards describes these programs as “inherently ineffective and undemocratic” because of the costly regulations they impose and the federal government’s persistent control over states that comes with the funding.

I don’t expect any immediate miracles, but it’s a great sign that Trump is entrusting Musk with this role. And I anticipate that Musk will make the most of the opportunity.

Ingrid Jacques is a USA TODAY columnist. Contact her at [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques.