Musk’s DOGE initiative eyes US spending cuts, USAID elimination
Elon Musk, who now leads the DOGE initiative, outlined plans for significant cuts in US spending and regulations, including the elimination of the US Agency for International Development.He also suggested that the bond market show appreciation for these changes.
"We've just got to do wholesale spring cleaning" of US regulations, Musk said at an X Spaces session early Monday.
In one of his most significant proposed cuts, the billionaire supporter of Donald Trump revealed that his organisation is working to shut down USAID, the foreign aid agency established by Congress.
Musk stated that he has Trump's support for the plan to eliminate USAID as a separate agency and merge its remaining functions into the State Department.
He added that if the US decides to resurrect such an organisation or any of the regulations he is targeting for removal in the future, they can simply be reinstated.
Musk also announced that he would be speaking with JP Morgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon this week, hoping to persuade bond markets that his cost-cutting initiative, DOGE, will help restore trust in US debt.
Musk's remarks came during a nearly hour-long audio conversation on X, which was his first public, in-depth discussion of DOGE since Trump's presidency.
He was joined in the candid conversation by Republican Senators Joni Ernst and Mike Lee, as well as former DOGE co-head Vivek Ramaswamy.
Fears of rising deficits and inflationary policies pushed Treasury yields higher from their September lows, both before and after the US election.
Signs of significant spending cuts that could reduce the fiscal deficit would be welcome news for bond bulls expecting lower yields.
The scope of Musk's actions during Trump's first two weeks suggests that he has significantly broadened DOGE's mandate beyond the original executive order, which was solely focused on "modernising Federal technology and software to maximise governmental efficiency and productivity."
Leave A Comment