I disagree. Elon could only remain until 5/20 without having to divest .. do you think he would do that? I think they're still working. I think those in DOGE did the low hanging fruit first, to make a splash. They're onto much harder stuff now. Patience.
No serious reining in of the budget was ever remotely possible without a massive Republican majority in Congress...which we don't have any prospect of. So it was always about greater bureaucratic efficiency.....and maybe a bit of Trumpist creative destruction (including some positive mayhem) too. Any serious change to ANYTHING in the Western 'democracies' also depends massively on a no-holds-barred attack on the Lefty lawyer caste who currently hold far more real power than elected politicians. You would for example need to be able to (shock horror) tear up the contractual security of tenure of useless bureacrats and sack them anyway - contract or not.
I had this bizarre thought recently: it would be at least POSSIBLE for an AI bureacracy to be an efficient one.....maybe Elon's next project!
Whereas human bureaucracies can never be anything BUT stupid (with as many competing/conflicting personal agendas as employees). As I wrote here: https://grahamcunningham.substack.com/p/take-me-to-your-experts "Advanced societies are just stuck with their modern equivalent of Dickens’ Circumlocution Office. Nobody really has any idea how to run an advanced urban society without it. What could realistically be done about the general Kafkaesqueness of the interface between us as individuals and The System?"
Of course it would still come back to who was pulling the AI levers.
I agree wholeheartedly that the " budget" will need to wait until after midterms. When was the last one passed, anyway? Inept politicians instead of statesmen is what in part at least made it ungovernable- at least by people whose only talent is running for office and grifting.
Why do you think some important stuff is being slow walked? For grins? Giggles? You don't really understand we're watching a game being played and the outcome is already foretold. We'll get together then and compare notes.
Agree much is theater and never expected anything from Thune or Johnson BUT people in their states, and other states with Republican Senators can make their voices heard and tell their Senators to get on board or else. Complain about Congress but guess who puts them in office?
Hmmm... very sci-fi of you. Unfortunately, the more efficient gov gets, the greater their idle hands, and unless they can get smaller, the more evil they get. Just saying. 🤷♂️
Respectfully, DOGE was able to shine the light of truth on some of the most obscene and non-transparent practices of the Leviathan. He has established a team with momentum. Much can be done in another three years. I think everyone knew the optics would hurt when a new civil servant had to be fired. RIF is never popular. By any objective standard, areas of concern have been identified!
I have abundant respect for Coburn and Paul, but it seems that lone voices don’t have the impact that a department established by the World’s most creative genius, in my and many others’ opinions……
But I agree that it is about the greatest challenge anyone could accept!
Chris, we will always have some degree of waste fraud and abuse. But can we change the culture that allows this to happen? That is what I would ask.
The executive branch is fine for now IMHO. Next, one needs to clean up congress. They hold the purse strings. You are right. Shining a light on it is not enough. But do not despair.
Chris, your work against woke was epic. It changed the world. Time to pivot to something else.
Can you identify something? Maybe something that shows how outrageous congress is. From a general perspective...like forcing public servants to be public servants. And everything that means.
IMHO your success will be your downfall-- if you do not pivot.
Just saying. I love what you have done and only want the best for you.
You make a great point. Our cultural future requires a clean-up of education. Our financial mess requires a cleanup of our finances. All point to drastic changes in government.
The power that DOGE has is largely 'X' and that is because Musk was involved. That is their megaphone that Coburn and Paul didn't have. The audience for Musk, and now for DOGE is much larger now. The question is: Will that be terribly beneficial or will the shine wear off and have it fade into the background.
Capable businessmen necessarily have the ability to create high performance teams. Elon didn’t engineer each component of a Tesla, he hired highly competent engineers to do that for him. I suspect (hope) that there are super competent people remaining on DOGE to continue the work. And it’s better for them and the project to remain low profile.
Not true. Elon has put a system in place that will continue to operate. He ded the same thing with X. Full time for a short time. But keeps his fingers on the pulse
I’m sad to see Elan Musk go! He is a great sidekick to our great President Trump! They got lots done in a short period of time. The corruption in Washington though is greater and more horrific than we thought, BUT now we know our enemies!
Elon has done a great service by exposing the rot in congress and government in general. For our congress and our government to operate the way it does is an utter embarrassment. If congress does not pick up the mantle and continue to clean out this rot it will be the biggest missed opportunity of our lifetime.
I agree and disagree all at once. Yes, he hit roadblocks, and the Tesla attacks were beyond the pale, which even for the violent left were unexpected. Musk would have been a bit wiser to understand the politics of public perspective when he was tweeting, but overall, the exposure he brought, so quickly, to so many people of what the government actually has been was terribly important.
DOGE has provided the roadmap - but now it will be up to the budget process to be fulfilled - so that Trump can with congressional blessing blow up the rest of it. Yes, it does rest on Congress, and while I think Johnson can get a bill through, I am not sure Thune can. It is quite possible that your dire prediction, and DOGE's ultimate failure will mean our last best shot has escaped us, and we must hope the growth side of the equation can bail us out. My fear, is the the leviathan that is DC will find a way to swallow that up.
Fear only serves losing and benefits Dems. That's why they generate so much fear. Never give up. Never stop fighting. Rufo does us a major disservice with this article. He used to be a determined fighter. If anyone has given up, it's Rufo, not Musk
I was making the same argument with a friend just the other day. They were almost mocking that DOGE came up short. My response was the identified savings are there. But the budget process is now the key. Congress must pass a bill crafted in such a manner that allows Trump to execute the rest of what DOGE found. Otherwise it will all fill back in.
You are NOT hard enough on the politicians, particularly the Republicans. They will not even attempt rescessions. Even Trump mostly chickened out, given his stance on Medicaid, a program rife with fraud and abuse.
DOGE can do much with the federal payment system, if the court (gasp, ridiculous) so permits. A deep dive into the NGOs could save us billions. Trump, or Vance must spearhead the effort going forward. We, the people, must apply the needed pressure.
Agreed. But able bodied adults age 18-54 without dependents receiving Medicaid is also a problem. I am not advocating abolishing Medicaid. I want to save it for the truly needy.
It actually is the Federal government that said his time was limited to ~125 days. His position is time limited as it is not a position in the regular government or a position that requires Senate approval.
Well, it's just that three months is hardly sufficient time, especially for something of this magnitude. It would take at least that time to even identify problems, much less start finding solutions.
DOGE was always going to be a disappointment. The important task is to keep this pressure to reform the bureaucracy going. That requires a lot more than simply trimming government. It will require reforming universities, reducing the privilege and power of credentials, and returning power to towns and families and local organizations, away from national agencies and nonprofits.
i can’t agree. i not sure what your exoecowas. the rot in washington is expansive and wont just disappear but the veil that musk removed was historical and effective.
It is comedic to presume the media/left/progressives beat Elon. He will likely continue to consult with DOGE and Trump despite this "stepping down". Are the media so stupid that they think they've won?
I totally agree with your comment that the problem is political. Potomac fever is real and we must force our elected officials to change or hold them accountable.
It is about perspective Chris. For you and I, defunding woke was an amazing success. And 100B+ annual savings is IMHO a great start. We have 1000+ days left. I ask; what can we do to pick up the DOGE ball. Elon got the ball rolling. Now it's our turn. Chris, got some inspirational ideas?
Trump's highest priority, bar none, is to dismantle the Democrats' criminal money-laundering machine. His second-highest priority is to dismantle their criminal election fraud machine. If he cannot accomplish these two things, we are toast.
Not to worry. To match what the Democrats have now would require decades of concerted effort. Beyond that, I don't think the Republicans have even one person on their side who's clever enough to do it. "Trump could have been the Soros of the Right (but he isn't)": https://daveziffer.substack.com/p/trump-could-have-been-the-soros-of
Scott Bessent worked for Soros for years and knows his gift. As does Musk. Soros not the God you think he is. He is an Emperor without clothes thanks to Musk and Trump
Musk and Trump are flashes in the pan. With a dedicated team of hundreds of professionals, it would take decades to dismantle Soros' machine. Read my article. Better yet, read the book to which my article refers.
Maybe now Vivek can have a crack after all. He might suit the next phase of locking in gains and making incremental improvement better. As a (now) politician, he might also be available to stick around longer.
Remember who paid for his education: George Soros. Careful how much faith you put in Vivek. His companies products never came to fruition either. He is a smooth talker but is self serving. A major rider on the Trump train to self glory
I disagree. Elon could only remain until 5/20 without having to divest .. do you think he would do that? I think they're still working. I think those in DOGE did the low hanging fruit first, to make a splash. They're onto much harder stuff now. Patience.
No serious reining in of the budget was ever remotely possible without a massive Republican majority in Congress...which we don't have any prospect of. So it was always about greater bureaucratic efficiency.....and maybe a bit of Trumpist creative destruction (including some positive mayhem) too. Any serious change to ANYTHING in the Western 'democracies' also depends massively on a no-holds-barred attack on the Lefty lawyer caste who currently hold far more real power than elected politicians. You would for example need to be able to (shock horror) tear up the contractual security of tenure of useless bureacrats and sack them anyway - contract or not.
I had this bizarre thought recently: it would be at least POSSIBLE for an AI bureacracy to be an efficient one.....maybe Elon's next project!
Whereas human bureaucracies can never be anything BUT stupid (with as many competing/conflicting personal agendas as employees). As I wrote here: https://grahamcunningham.substack.com/p/take-me-to-your-experts "Advanced societies are just stuck with their modern equivalent of Dickens’ Circumlocution Office. Nobody really has any idea how to run an advanced urban society without it. What could realistically be done about the general Kafkaesqueness of the interface between us as individuals and The System?"
Of course it would still come back to who was pulling the AI levers.
I agree wholeheartedly that the " budget" will need to wait until after midterms. When was the last one passed, anyway? Inept politicians instead of statesmen is what in part at least made it ungovernable- at least by people whose only talent is running for office and grifting.
Disagree completely. House will go to Dems if history any indication and then it will be obstruction, obstruction every minute of every day.
Why do you think some important stuff is being slow walked? For grins? Giggles? You don't really understand we're watching a game being played and the outcome is already foretold. We'll get together then and compare notes.
Agree much is theater and never expected anything from Thune or Johnson BUT people in their states, and other states with Republican Senators can make their voices heard and tell their Senators to get on board or else. Complain about Congress but guess who puts them in office?
Corrupt elections put them in office especially here in California
...and impeachment (because Trump).
Hmmm... very sci-fi of you. Unfortunately, the more efficient gov gets, the greater their idle hands, and unless they can get smaller, the more evil they get. Just saying. 🤷♂️
You seem to have missed my meaning. In my sci-fi scenario, total number of bureaucrats employed would drop from, say, 6 million (or whatever) to 60!
Respectfully, DOGE was able to shine the light of truth on some of the most obscene and non-transparent practices of the Leviathan. He has established a team with momentum. Much can be done in another three years. I think everyone knew the optics would hurt when a new civil servant had to be fired. RIF is never popular. By any objective standard, areas of concern have been identified!
Sure, but Tom Coburn and Ron Paul shined the light for decades. Question is whether the “waste, fraud, and abuse” can be eliminated in practice.
True, but Coburn and Paul couldn't generate anywhere near the general interest in the problem, as Musk's media stardom has.
So true: Musk has a star-like persona, like the great and noble scientists in the past have had.
I have abundant respect for Coburn and Paul, but it seems that lone voices don’t have the impact that a department established by the World’s most creative genius, in my and many others’ opinions……
But I agree that it is about the greatest challenge anyone could accept!
Chris, we will always have some degree of waste fraud and abuse. But can we change the culture that allows this to happen? That is what I would ask.
The executive branch is fine for now IMHO. Next, one needs to clean up congress. They hold the purse strings. You are right. Shining a light on it is not enough. But do not despair.
Chris, your work against woke was epic. It changed the world. Time to pivot to something else.
Can you identify something? Maybe something that shows how outrageous congress is. From a general perspective...like forcing public servants to be public servants. And everything that means.
IMHO your success will be your downfall-- if you do not pivot.
Just saying. I love what you have done and only want the best for you.
AGREED--strongly...that Chris has done important work. Starting with fixing education is the way to go.
You make a great point. Our cultural future requires a clean-up of education. Our financial mess requires a cleanup of our finances. All point to drastic changes in government.
The power that DOGE has is largely 'X' and that is because Musk was involved. That is their megaphone that Coburn and Paul didn't have. The audience for Musk, and now for DOGE is much larger now. The question is: Will that be terribly beneficial or will the shine wear off and have it fade into the background.
The latter, if the past 70 years of American history are any guide.
But will the team plow on, or be sidelined without the out-front, visible, charismatic, hard-hitting leadership or Musk? I pray for the former…
Great question? It requires willing and able dept heads to cut their departments and push congress toward lowering budgets. We'll see.
Capable businessmen necessarily have the ability to create high performance teams. Elon didn’t engineer each component of a Tesla, he hired highly competent engineers to do that for him. I suspect (hope) that there are super competent people remaining on DOGE to continue the work. And it’s better for them and the project to remain low profile.
I hope you are correct --I am the eternal optimist...but have serious doubts about DOGE ever being able to do a large cleanout/clean up.
Not true. Elon has put a system in place that will continue to operate. He ded the same thing with X. Full time for a short time. But keeps his fingers on the pulse
Let’s hope so.
I’m sad to see Elan Musk go! He is a great sidekick to our great President Trump! They got lots done in a short period of time. The corruption in Washington though is greater and more horrific than we thought, BUT now we know our enemies!
Elon has done a great service by exposing the rot in congress and government in general. For our congress and our government to operate the way it does is an utter embarrassment. If congress does not pick up the mantle and continue to clean out this rot it will be the biggest missed opportunity of our lifetime.
My hope is high, but my expectations are low.
Unfortunately Congress is the ring leader in the corruption racket.
I agree and disagree all at once. Yes, he hit roadblocks, and the Tesla attacks were beyond the pale, which even for the violent left were unexpected. Musk would have been a bit wiser to understand the politics of public perspective when he was tweeting, but overall, the exposure he brought, so quickly, to so many people of what the government actually has been was terribly important.
DOGE has provided the roadmap - but now it will be up to the budget process to be fulfilled - so that Trump can with congressional blessing blow up the rest of it. Yes, it does rest on Congress, and while I think Johnson can get a bill through, I am not sure Thune can. It is quite possible that your dire prediction, and DOGE's ultimate failure will mean our last best shot has escaped us, and we must hope the growth side of the equation can bail us out. My fear, is the the leviathan that is DC will find a way to swallow that up.
Fear only serves losing and benefits Dems. That's why they generate so much fear. Never give up. Never stop fighting. Rufo does us a major disservice with this article. He used to be a determined fighter. If anyone has given up, it's Rufo, not Musk
I’m not giving up, I’m just giving a mid-run assessment. Congress needs to step up now.
I was making the same argument with a friend just the other day. They were almost mocking that DOGE came up short. My response was the identified savings are there. But the budget process is now the key. Congress must pass a bill crafted in such a manner that allows Trump to execute the rest of what DOGE found. Otherwise it will all fill back in.
Voters need to step up next year and terminate the RINOs along with the Dems.
You are NOT hard enough on the politicians, particularly the Republicans. They will not even attempt rescessions. Even Trump mostly chickened out, given his stance on Medicaid, a program rife with fraud and abuse.
DOGE can do much with the federal payment system, if the court (gasp, ridiculous) so permits. A deep dive into the NGOs could save us billions. Trump, or Vance must spearhead the effort going forward. We, the people, must apply the needed pressure.
Medicaid FRAUD is the problem, not Medicaid.
Agreed. But able bodied adults age 18-54 without dependents receiving Medicaid is also a problem. I am not advocating abolishing Medicaid. I want to save it for the truly needy.
rescissions?
Three months? That's it? Good grief. No one can expect something this big to be fixed in three months.
Edit: Just to clarify my own comment, my point was not just to others expecting miracles in three months. It was the fact that he gave up so quickly.
He didn't give up. He is in Saudi Arabia right now. He left a great team in place. He can do more in the shadows
@Mo- He didn't give up. He said at the start he could only stay a certain amount of time.
It actually is the Federal government that said his time was limited to ~125 days. His position is time limited as it is not a position in the regular government or a position that requires Senate approval.
Well, it's just that three months is hardly sufficient time, especially for something of this magnitude. It would take at least that time to even identify problems, much less start finding solutions.
@Mo- here's to hoping he will hand it off to someone equally capable
I guess we will see!
He is a Special Government Employee, meaning he can work for the Government no more than 130 days in a 365-day period.
Interesting, thanks.
DOGE was always going to be a disappointment. The important task is to keep this pressure to reform the bureaucracy going. That requires a lot more than simply trimming government. It will require reforming universities, reducing the privilege and power of credentials, and returning power to towns and families and local organizations, away from national agencies and nonprofits.
https://jmpolemic.substack.com/p/leviathan
i can’t agree. i not sure what your exoecowas. the rot in washington is expansive and wont just disappear but the veil that musk removed was historical and effective.
It is comedic to presume the media/left/progressives beat Elon. He will likely continue to consult with DOGE and Trump despite this "stepping down". Are the media so stupid that they think they've won?
I totally agree with your comment that the problem is political. Potomac fever is real and we must force our elected officials to change or hold them accountable.
It is about perspective Chris. For you and I, defunding woke was an amazing success. And 100B+ annual savings is IMHO a great start. We have 1000+ days left. I ask; what can we do to pick up the DOGE ball. Elon got the ball rolling. Now it's our turn. Chris, got some inspirational ideas?
Chris, you can only achieve great things if you think big.
In fact, if people aren't laughing at your goals you aren't thinking big enough.
Just four years the dream of a massive MAGA revival seemed impossible. Yet here we are on the verge a total political realignment.
Go figure.
Rock on my friend!
Trump's highest priority, bar none, is to dismantle the Democrats' criminal money-laundering machine. His second-highest priority is to dismantle their criminal election fraud machine. If he cannot accomplish these two things, we are toast.
Voter ID more vital than anything. Tough to fix outside of federal elections. Tougher still to get states like CA to comply
It’s not just the Democrats Republicans are money laundering as well! Be fair
Agree. Very important!
His third priority should be primarying all RINO candidates prior to the midterms.
And replace them with his own.
Not to worry. To match what the Democrats have now would require decades of concerted effort. Beyond that, I don't think the Republicans have even one person on their side who's clever enough to do it. "Trump could have been the Soros of the Right (but he isn't)": https://daveziffer.substack.com/p/trump-could-have-been-the-soros-of
Scott Bessent worked for Soros for years and knows his gift. As does Musk. Soros not the God you think he is. He is an Emperor without clothes thanks to Musk and Trump
Musk and Trump are flashes in the pan. With a dedicated team of hundreds of professionals, it would take decades to dismantle Soros' machine. Read my article. Better yet, read the book to which my article refers.
Maybe now Vivek can have a crack after all. He might suit the next phase of locking in gains and making incremental improvement better. As a (now) politician, he might also be available to stick around longer.
He's running for Gov of Ohio...
ah! that would make him a busy man then.
Remember who paid for his education: George Soros. Careful how much faith you put in Vivek. His companies products never came to fruition either. He is a smooth talker but is self serving. A major rider on the Trump train to self glory