keneci
News • Science & Tech • Comedy
DOGE, Elon Musk Speak on 'mind-boggling' waste, fraud in U.S. government
March 28, 2025
post photo preview

Elon Musk and seven members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team appeared on Fox News' Special Report with Bret Baier Thursday, to discuss their efforts to cut government waste and fraud and address critics.

The group also discussed DOGE's work relating to the federal workforce, financial management, government infrastructure, computer systems, Social Security and more.

Musk revealed that 40% of calls to the Social Security Administration (SSA) are fraudulent and defended the team's actions, despite ongoing legal challenges from far-left activists and entrenched bureaucrats.

"We want to reduce spending by eliminating waste and fraud and reduce the spending by 15%, which seems really quite achievable," The Tesla CEO and special government employee told Baier. "...The government is not efficient, and there's a lot of waste and fraud. So we feel confident that a 15% reduction can be done without affecting any of the critical government services."

As of March 27, DOGE claims on its site it has saved Americans $130 billion, or $807.45 per taxpayer.

“We are cutting the waste and fraud in real time," Musk told Fox News. "So every day that passes, our goal is to reduce the waste and fraud by $4 billion a day every day, 7 days a week. And so far we are succeeding.” That’s $1.4T per year in savings by DOGE”

President Donald Trump tasked the organization with optimizing the federal government, streamlining operations and slashing spending and gave the agency 18 months to do it.

The department has canceled numerous diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at federal agencies, consulting contracts, leases for underused federal buildings and duplicate agencies and programs.

During Thursday's interview, the DOGE team members added a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the department’s work from the Internal Revenue Source to the Interior Department to Social Security. Musk was joined by DOGE members Steve Davis, a longtime Musk associate and rocket scientist, Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb, Aram Moghaddassi, Brad Smith, Anthony Armstrong, a former Morgan Stanley banker, Tom Krause, who has been involved in legal challenges, and Tyler Hassen.

"This is a revolution. And I think it might be the biggest revolution in government since the original revolution. But at the end of the day, America's going to be in much better shape," Musk said. "It's going to be a fantastic future."

Moghaddassi, a DOGE software engineer, said that the team aims to improve Social Security by helping legitimate beneficiaries and protecting them from fraud.

The DOGE members illustrated key efforts of the department to achieve Trump's goal. Davis brought up federal credit cards, which he labeled a "mundane" but "illustrative" example of DOGE's work.

"There are in the federal government around 4.6 million credit cards for around 2.3 to 2.4 million employees. This doesn't make sense. So one of the things all of the teams have worked on is we've worked for the agencies and said, 'Do you need all of these credit cards? Are they being used? Can you tell us physically where they are?'" Davis explained.

"Clearly there should not be more credit cards than there are people," Musk responded.

Musk highlighted an example of egregious government waste: a national park survey that reportedly cost the federal government nearly $1 billion. This was a simple 10-question survey asking people whether they liked national parks, which he claims could have been conducted using a platform like SurveyMonkey for approximately $10,000. He has noted that the survey appeared to lack a meaningful purpose or feedback loop, suggesting the expenditure was not only excessive but also ineffective.

The group also highlighted the archaic retirement system. The current paper system is so inefficient that only 8,000 government employees can be retired per month, with backlog of 6-9 months processing time.. Musk said. Many processes in government look like they haven’t changed or been updated since the 1950’s.

Many Republican lawmakers have come out as staunch DOGE defenders, while many Democrat lawmakers remain vociferous critics of DOGE and its leader.

Musk explained the department is keeping Congress "informed" and that lawmakers have a duty to address fraud and wasteful spending, they haven’t been doing that, the Tesla CEO said. “We try to keep Congress as informed as possible. The law does say that money needs to be spent correctly. It should not be spent fraudulently or wastefully.”

He addressed the judicial rulings against DOGE, pointing out that the D.C. Circuit has a "very far-left bias" and suggesting that judges may be influenced by NGOs that benefit from government spending.

The top DOGE official and his team defended their actions, arguing that they are working to make the government more efficient and solvent. Musk claimed that "almost no one has gotten fired" and that the team's efforts are necessary to ensure critical government services continue to function.

Critics contend the organization has too much access to federal systems and should not be permitted to cancel federal contracts or make cuts to various agencies.

"They may characterize it as shooting from the hip, but it is anything but that," Musk said, noting the agency's approach to cuts is to "measure twice, if not thrice and cut once."

"Which is not to say that we don't make mistakes. If we were to approach this with the standard of making no mistakes at all, that would be like saying someone in baseball has got to bat a thousand. That's impossible. So when we do make mistakes, we correct them quickly and we move on," he added.

The top DOGE official also argued that when critics "attack DOGE, they never attack any of the specifics."

"They'll say what we're doing is somehow unconstitutional or illegal or whatever. We're like, 'well, which line of the cost savings do you disagree with?' And they can't point to any," Musk said.

Musk also spoke out about what he sees as a growing wave of violence against Tesla owners, blaming left-wing rhetoric for inciting the attacks. He argued that the real issue isn’t just the individuals committing these acts but the people spreading anti-Tesla narratives.

Reports of Tesla-related incidents have been increasing, ranging from minor vandalism, such as keying or graffiti, to more extreme cases like arson and drive-by shootings targeting Tesla vehicles and dealerships.

Musk and DOGE have been a lightning rod for criticism due to the department's commitment to slashing waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government.

"The real problem is not the people. It's not like the crazy guy that firebombs a Tesla dealership," Musk said. "It's the people pushing the propaganda that cause that guy to do it. Those are the real villains here."

According to Musk, the rise in vandalism and attacks on Tesla cars and dealerships stems from criticism of his leadership at DOGE. He claims that rhetoric from Democrat leaders, especially those opposed to DOGE and his involvement, has fueled anger against Tesla and its supporters.

"They are being fed propaganda by the far left, and they believe it," Musk said. "....Tesla is a peaceful company that has made great cars, great products. That's all it's done. It hasn't harmed anyone. And yet people are committing violence."

"They are firebombing Tesla dealerships. They are shooting guns into stores. They are threatening people. They are issuing death threats against me and other Tesla personnel," Musk told Baier.

Musk also said that the Trump administration has vowed to take action. 

"The president has made it clear: We’re going after them. The ones providing the money, the ones pushing the lies and propaganda. We're going after them," he said.

When asked why he continues his role at DOGE despite the backlash, Musk compared the attacks against him to those faced by President Trump, particularly accusations that he is a Nazi.

"I got the normal playbook," he said. 

"They called the president all these things… At one point there was a magazine cover, which said the president was worse than Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin combined. And the president hasn't killed anyone. He hasn't started any wars. In fact, he's good at stopping wars."

Musk argued that such extreme language is part of a broader strategy to disrupt his and Trump’s agenda.

"Why do they push these lies? I think we need to hold people responsible for pushing these lies, because those lies almost got the president killed," he said.

In response to the violence against Tesla, the FBI announced Monday that it has launched a task force to investigate attacks on Tesla owners. FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X that the incidents are being treated as "domestic terrorism."

Thursday's interview marked a significant public appearance for the DOGE team, which has generally kept a low profile since its inception. Despite the team's efforts to present a positive image, the interview highlighted ongoing controversies and legal challenges surrounding their activities.

community logo
Join the keneci Community
To read more articles like this, sign up and join my community today
0
What else you may like…
Videos
Posts
Articles
SpaceX Starlink Internet Satellites

With Starlink internet, data is continuously being sent between a ground dish and a Starlink satellite orbiting 550km above. Furthermore, the Starlink satellite zooms across the sky at 27,000 km/hr! MORE VIDEOS ON KENECI NETWORK RUMBLE CHANNEL: https://rumble.com/c/Keneci

00:28:08
Elon Musk, DOGE Speak On Waste And Fraud

US Department of Government Efficiency Services (USDS) led by Elon Musk speak on the "mind-boggling" fraud and waste in UInited States federal government

00:00:45
January 17, 2025
SpaceX Launches Starship 7th Test Flight

SpaceX successfully executed its second-ever “chopsticks” catch of a Super Heavy booster (or Booster 14) using the “Mechazilla” launch tower on Thursday(Jan. 16), during the seventh uncrewed test flight of the company's 123-meter Starship rocket. However, the megarocket's upper stage(or Ship 33) was lost approximately 8.5 minutes into the flight in a “rapid unscheduled disassembly(RUD)” or explosion

00:10:30
Welcome to Keneci Network!

Join the conversations!

September 17, 2024
Charges Against Sean 'Diddy' Combs In Grand Jury Indictment

The rapper was charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution in the indictment unsealed Tuesday(Sept. 17)

Combs-Indictment-24-Cr.-542.pdf
"Dear husband"

A Dubai princess took to social media to announce she's divorcing her husband who's worth $40B.

She claims the billionaire is busy with his "other [female] companions"

post photo preview
post photo preview
Elon Musk, Trump 'Big Beautiful Bill' Feud Fallout

The feud between U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk escalated Thursday, with Musk accusing Trump of having ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and criticizing Trump's "big, beautiful" spending bill. Musk alleged that Trump is in the Epstein files, which is why they have not been made public, and suggested that Trump would not have won the election without him.

The White House's Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, calls Musk’s claim “an unfortunate episode” driven by his dissatisfaction with the bill’s lack of EV subsidies. A source notes Trump banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago and references the February 2025 release of flight logs mentioning Trump.

The conflict began when Musk criticized the "big, beautiful" tax and spending bill, calling it an "abomination" and urging to keep electric vehicle (EV) and solar incentives while removing wasteful spending Trump responded by expressing disappointment in Musk, stating that he was "surprised" by Musk's criticism.

During a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Thursday, Trump addressed Musk’s criticism publicly, saying he’s “very disappointed” in Musk, who “knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody.” Trump claims Musk’s objections stem from the removal of the $7,500 EV tax credit, which he says Musk knew about for months. He suggests Musk may have “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

Trump also mocked Musk’s appearance, referencing a recent black eye (attributed to Musk’s son) and questioning why he didn’t cover it with makeup.

In a social media post, Trump threatened to cancel Musk’s government contracts, including those for SpaceX and Tesla, stating, “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts.” He also claimed he asked Musk to leave DOGE because he was “wearing thin.”

Escalating the feud Musk responded by saying SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft, indicating a potential withdrawal from government contracts.

Musk then took to X to make his accusations about the Epstein files. He wrote, "Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out."

oMI-YMPaKR1qGVLoLQtxaxqzj8LmpgYKPh7sJ8DfmjdkhNZ428Qf3P8NNZiykZzprloLt_pxavtxt9ZGMrilT738j_5rvJgFpXjgFA6OCFsMxKUWJ3SAHFoyH6aYxyJ1Nw=w1280

The White House and Trump's supporters defended Trump, with the White House press secretary describing Musk's comments as "unfortunate" and suggesting that Musk was unhappy with the bill's content. Trump also suggested that Musk was upset about the removal of EV subsidies and mandates, which could affect Musk's Tesla business.

Despite the heated exchanges, Trump downplayed the situation to reporters and instead referenced his policy implementations, saying, "Oh it's okay, it's going very well, never done better."

Throughout the day, Musk's net worth dropped significantly, losing approximately $27 billion, although he remained the world's richest man with a net worth of around $388 billion.

Speaking to reporters by phone Friday, Trump said in response to reports of possible phone call with Musk, "I'm not even thinking about Elon. He's got a problem. The poor guy’s got a problem....No. I won't be speaking to him for a while I guess, but I wish him well."

“Honestly I’ve been so busy working on China… working on Russia… working on Iran.. I’m not thinking about Elon musk .. I just wish him well....,“ Trump later told reporters. "I hope he does well with Tesla."

Read full Article
post photo preview
Trump Announces Travel Ban, Restrictions On 19 Countries

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday, restricting travel to the United States from 12 countries and imposing partial restrictions on 7 others. The countries fully banned from entering the U.S. are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

Countries subject to partial restrictions include Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

The ban takes effect on June 9, 2025.

The proclamation includes exemptions for lawful permanent residents (green card holders); existing visa holders (visas issued before June 9, 2025, will not be revoked); Afghans eligible for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) who assisted the U.S. government; diplomats, athletes (e.g., for the World Cup or Olympics), and dual nationals with passports from non-restricted countries and individuals whose entry serves U.S. national interests, evaluated case-by-case.

The ban is subject to revision if countries improve vetting or security cooperation, and additional countries could be added if new threats emerge.

These restrictions aim to enhance national security and counterterrorism efforts by addressing deficiencies in the information needed to assess potential security threats posed by nationals of these countries.

Read full Article
post photo preview
Dave Portnoy Had A Meltdown In Heated Debate With Cohost About 'Jew Jokes,' Free speech

Barstool founder Dave Portnoy had a heated back and forth with his podcast's cohost Kirk Minihane over 'Jew jokes.'

Portnoy faced backlash recently on social media, after firing two waitresses and taking further action against some college students involved in an incident at his Barstool Sansom Street bar in Philadelphia, where a sign that read "Fuck the Jews," was displayed.

"Shut the fuck up you bald fuck" Portnoy screamed at Minihane during a recent The Unnamed Show episode after Minihane criticized Portnoy's approach to 'Jew jokes.'

Minihane argued that Americans and especially comedians have a right to free speech and to make jokes. While Portnoy suggested that given the war in Gaza and public anti-Israel sentiment online, 'Jew jokes' should not be allowed and offenders must be prosecuted.

"Shut up!... You work for me!" Portnoy screamed at Minihane who responded "Sure. You bet. For now..."

"Quit! I'll save $500,000." Portnoy said.

Minihane then asked "Is this a show or not a show? We can't have a conversation?"

"You're an idiot. You're literally saying people should be allowed to make Jew jokes whenever they want." Portnoy shot back.

Read full Article
See More
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals