A full accounting of the initiative’s impact.
Back in 2024, when the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was first proposed, its goals were clear.Elon Musk said he’d attempt to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget. Like many Americans (including me) who are concerned about our debt and deficit, Musk’s view was that if government spending didn’t meaningfully change, the U.S. was headed for a financial crisis that would leave the country in ruins. In a November 2024 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, he and Vivek Ramaswamy said they’d operate the new agency as “entrepreneurs, not politicians.” They framed themselves as “volunteers” rather than “federal officials or employees,” and “unlike government commissions,” they would “cut costs,” not just “write reports or cut ribbons.” They would launch this project with a comprehensive audit of the federal government’s financial performance to find waste and fraud, then modernize the government to slim down the workforce.These were not vague assurances or goals. This was a specific plan, in black and white print.
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This week, Isaac, Ari, and Kmele discuss the debate over what “Woke 1” means and what it says about shifts in the Democratic Party. They also dive into recent primary election results around the country, Senator Darline Graham’s (R-SC) debate response on foreign policy, and Senator Jon Ossoff’s (D-GA) recent remarks in Georgia. Check it out here.
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Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.
This podcast written by: Isaac Saul and audio engineered and edited by Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Jon Ball and Diet 75.
Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Senior Editor Will Kaback, Bailey Saul, Audrey Moorehead, and Carina Pacheco.
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