Investor and "Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary not only defended the cuts to the federal workforce being made by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency but said they're "not cutting enough" fast enough.
O'Leary made the remarks in a panel discussion on CNN on Monday, The Hill reported.
"I don't think he's doing enough. He's not cutting enough. We should cut more, 20% more," O'Leary said. "It's all fat. It's waste."
The Canadian businessman added, "There's so much waste in federal government. This is great for the American people."
DOGE's most recent update, on Monday, said it has saved $65 billion so far, with the Department of Education yielding the most total savings to date. As of Feb. 13, roughly 77,000 federal employees have accepted buyouts, while the Trump administration continues layoffs across the executive branch.
Still, O'Leary argued last week that DOGE wasn't moving fast enough, given it has a 24-month mandate until the 2026 midterms, which could put Republicans on the wrong end of a majority in either the House or Senate.
"Keep slashing, keep hacking, while you have a 24-month mandate before the midterms," O'Leary said again during a CNN panel discussion. "Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, more, more cutting. Believe me, it's going to work out just great. Everybody should be happy about this."
He reiterated Monday that the "federal government is dripping with fat."
"100 years of never being scrutinized, never being examined, never looking for any inefficiencies," O'Leary said.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., echoed that assessment Monday night, telling Newsmax that DOGE has only "scratched the surface."
"Every government agency, every division, every branch of every Cabinet in this government has been unaudited. There has been virtually no oversight provided," he said.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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