People representing President-elect Donald Trump's advisory Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reportedly have spoken with staffers at more than a dozen federal agencies.
Trump created DOGE, headed by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, to investigate how government spending and the mass amount of regulations can be greatly reduced.
Musk said as much as $2 trillion could be cut from the federal budget. However, during an X interview this week, he admitted that the target goal is overly optimistic. Still, Musk said his plan could result in "an epic outcome" of "no inflation."
The Washington Post reported Friday that Musk and Ramaswamy are sending DOGE representatives to federal agencies, including the Treasury Department, the IRS, and the departments of Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, and Health and Human Services.
The media outlet added that the two businessmen have overseen the hiring of more than 50 staffers who are working out of the offices of SpaceX in downtown Washington.
Sources told the Post that DOGE aims to have close to 100 employees by the time Trump is sworn into office. Online job postings have shown the advisory group looking for technology, human resources, and financial staffers for full-time, salaried positions.
Steve Davis, president of Musk's tunneling enterprise the Boring Company, is helping to oversee the entire effort, and Emil Michael, a former Uber executive, is helping to oversee the effort to cut regulations.
The newspaper said DOGE faces skepticism and ill feelings from career bureaucrats and civil servants who see Musk and Ramaswamy as arrogant and naive.
"Every administration has to establish a relationship with its career people, because it's the career people who keep the government going," Bill Hoagland, senior vice president at the think tank Bipartisan Policy Center, told the Post.
"I think this is an important foray, but given what they have stated, it will be difficult for some career individuals to be cooperative with the DOGE people, who are not elected and are more advisers than political appointees."
During the X interview, Musk said the current "target-rich" government environment — "if you look in any direction" — offers many ways to save money.
"It's like being in a room with targets," he said. "You could close your eyes, and you can't miss.
"There's just a lot of waste in government because … especially the federal government … you've just got a situation where the checks never bounce. Like, they've got the infinite money computer."