Elon Musk and the new Department of Government Efficiency have already backed down from their promise to cut $2 trillion in wasteful spending, but Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., still believes it’s possible.
Warren says DOGE can “meet its goal while avoiding dangerous cuts to important federal programs” using a list of ideas detailed in her 21-page letter to Musk.
Her framing isn’t entirely accurate — she says her plan will “save taxpayers $2 trillion over the next decade,” while Musk’s initial goal was to save $2 trillion per year — but her letter is proof that fiscal responsibility can and should be a bipartisan effort.
Warren’s biggest recommendation was to reevaluate the Department of Defense’s purchasing, which she said could save $200 billion by ending price gouging and sole-source contracts.
The Pentagon has overpaid almost 8,000% for some of its spare parts, including soap dispensers. It also spent $187 billion last year on noncompetitive contracts instead of looking for cheaper suppliers, OpenTheBooks found.
Warren also called out the private insurance companies that run Medicare Advantage plans, citing studies showing taxpayers were overcharged by up to $140 billion last year in Massachusetts alone. Recent estimates show Medicare Advantage costs the government 22% more than traditional Medicare.
The letter also suggests ending federal grants to for-profit colleges to save $25 billion in 10 years, though it’s possible even more cuts could be made. Private colleges like Harvard and Yale receive billions from the federal government while their endowments soar larger and larger.
While Warren said she is “happy” to work with Musk, she also took shots at the new department’s process so far.
“It is not clear that you and other DOGE leaders are able to identify and mitigate your conflicts of interest and adhere to common-sense ethics standards,” she wrote. “As a result, the committee appears to be a venue for corruption, allowing well-connected billionaires to put government policies in place that enrich them while hurting ordinary Americans.”
DOGE is uniquely positioned to have a lasting impact on government finances. It remains to be seen whether political infighting from the left or the right will hamper its goal, but both parties seem to agree that spending cuts are in order.
(The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.)
