Elon Musk, head of Tesla and SpaceX, has revised his initial estimate of federal budget savings significantly downward, announcing that his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) now expects to save $150 billion in fiscal year 2026 — a sharp contrast from the $1 trillion he originally promised to cut.
Musk made the announcement during a West Wing Cabinet meeting alongside President Trump on Thursday, crediting the projected savings to a concentrated effort to root out inefficiencies and fraud across executive branch agencies.
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, this remarkable Cabinet, and the hard work of the DOGE team, I’m pleased to share that we anticipate $150 billion in savings for FY 2026,” Musk said enthusiastically during the meeting.
Just weeks earlier, Musk had set the bar considerably higher. In an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, he expressed full confidence that DOGE would help slash $1 trillion from federal spending within the first 130 days of his appointment.
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“Our mission is to shrink the deficit by $1 trillion — from around $2 trillion down to $1 trillion,” Musk said during that appearance. “I believe we will have completed most of the necessary work to hit that target within the first few months.”
While the revised figure is only a fraction of that goal, Musk pointed to extreme cases of fraud to justify DOGE’s efforts. In one standout example, he cited an unemployment claim for $41,000 that was filed under a birth year of 2154.
“This is the kind of thing you just can’t make up,” Musk posted on X. “Someone born 129 years in the future was receiving unemployment benefits — your tax dollars at work.”
Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) also expressed disbelief over the findings. “Apparently toddlers — and time travelers — were collecting unemployment,” she told The Post. “We clearly need tighter controls.”
Meanwhile, the Trump administration received a legal boost for its federal workforce reform agenda. On Tuesday, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the president, affirming that he has the authority to dismiss federal employees, including thousands of probationary staff who had previously been ordered reinstated by a lower court.
