Karah Rucker

ENTREPRENEURS ELON MUSK AND VIVEK RAMASWAMY ARE OUTLINING WHAT THEY’RE CALLING THE ‘DOGE PLAN TO REFORM GOVERNMENT,’ IN AN OPINION PIECE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL… AND IT’S ALREADY STIRRING DEBATE ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM.

UNDER THE PLAN, MUSK AND RAMASWAMY SAY THEY AIM TO CUT THE SIZE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET BY HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS… ROLLING BACK WHAT THEY CALL “ILLICIT REGULATIONS,” AND SAVING TAXPAYERS BILLIONS. THEY’VE TEAMED UP WITH PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP TO LEAD THE DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY… OR DOGE… A VOLUNTEER-BASED INITIATIVE DESIGNED TO STREAMLINE GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS. 

Vivek Ramaswamy
“It’s no secret that there is a 4th branch of government… the administrative state that makes most of the rules… creates a federal bureaucracy that’s hampering our economy. So what do we wanna do? We want to go in and slash and burn that bureaucracy… to help Americans. Stimulate the economy… and to restore self governance again-”

THEIR FIRST TARGET? FEDERAL REGULATIONS.

MUSK AND RAMASWAMY SAY MANY OF THESE RULES ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS. THEY’RE CITING TWO RECENT SUPREME COURT RULINGS:

IN WEST VIRGINIA V. EPA, THE COURT RULED AGENCIES CAN’T IMPOSE MAJOR REGULATIONS WITHOUT EXPLICIT APPROVAL FROM CONGRESS. AND IN LOPER BRIGHT V. RAIMONDO… THE CHEVRON DOCTRINE WAS OVERTURNED, MEANING COURTS NO LONGER DEFER TO AGENCIES’ INTERPRETATIONS OF THE LAW. 

MUSK AND RAMASWAMY ARGUE THESE CASES SUGGEST MANY CURRENT FEDERAL REGULATIONS EXCEED THE AUTHORITY CONGRESS HAS GRANTED.

DOGE PLANS TO IDENTIFY THOUSANDS OF REGULATIONS THEY BELIEVE OVERSTEP AGENCY AUTHORITY. THE IDEA IS TO HAVE PRESIDENT TRUMP PAUSE ENFORCEMENT AND BEGIN RESCINDING THEM THROUGH EXECUTIVE ORDERS.

BUT IT DOESN’T STOP THERE. MUSK AND RAMASWAMY ALSO WANT TO TACKLE THE FEDERAL WORKFORCE.

THEY MAINTAIN FEWER REGULATIONS MEAN FEWER EMPLOYEES ARE NEEDED. DOGE IS PROPOSING LARGE-SCALE REDUCTIONS IN FEDERAL STAFF, USING EARLY RETIREMENT AND SEVERANCE PACKAGES TO EASE TRANSITIONS.

THEY’RE ALSO PLANNING TO REQUIRE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES TO RETURN TO THE OFFICE FIVE DAYS A WEEK… A MOVE THEY SAY WILL PROMPT VOLUNTARY RESIGNATIONS… ADDING, “IF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES DON’T WANT TO SHOW UP, AMERICAN TAXPAYERS SHOULDN’T PAY THEM FOR THE COVID-ERA PRIVILEGE OF STAYING HOME.”

AS FOR TAXPAYER SAVINGS, DOGE IS TARGETING OVER $500 BILLION IN ANNUAL SPENDING THEY CLAIM IS UNAUTHORIZED OR MISUSED. 

THIS INCLUDES 535 MILLION A YEAR FOR THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING… 1 AND A HALF BILLION FOR INTERNATIONAL GRANTS… AND NEARLY 300 MILLION TO PROGRESSIVE ORGANIZATIONS LIKE PLANNED PARENTHOOD.

THE LARGEST CHUNK OF MONEY IN THE FEDERAL BUDGET IS IN SOCIAL SECURITY… AT NEARLY 1 AND A HALF TRILLION. INTEREST ON THE NATIONAL DEBT CLOCKS IN AT NEARLY 900 BILLION. MEDICARE, DEFENSE AND VETERANS BENEFITS COMBINE TO MORE THAN 2 TRILLION. ALL THESE PROGRAMS ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT 65-PERCENT OF ALL FEDERAL SPENDING.

WHILE TRUMP PUBLICLY VOWED NOT TO TOUCH ANY OF THESE PROGRAMS… HE DID PROPOSE MAKING CUTS IN 2020

MUSK AND RAMASWAMY ALSO POINT TO THE PENTAGON, WHICH HAS FAILED ITS SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE AUDIT, AS AN AREA RIPE FOR REFORM. WITH AN $800 BILLION ANNUAL BUDGET, THEY SAY TIGHTENING PROCUREMENT PROCESSES COULD SAVE BILLIONS.

NOW, NOT EVERYONE’S ON BOARD. FEDERAL EMPLOYEE UNIONS HAVE CRITICIZED THE PLAN, CALLING IT OUT OF TOUCH WITH HOW THE GOVERNMENT ACTUALLY OPERATES. AND CRITICS WORRY THE SWEEPING USE OF EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY COULD LEAD TO MORE OVERREACH, NOT LESS.

MUSK AND RAMASWAMY INSIST THEIR GOAL IS SIMPLE: A LEANER, MORE EFFICIENT GOVERNMENT THAT STILL OPERATES WITHIN CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITS. THEY’VE SET A DEADLINE TO WRAP UP THEIR WORK BY JULY 4TH, 2026… AMERICA’S 250TH ANNIVERSARY.

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FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M KARAH RUCKER.