Trump says Elon Musk should be ‘more aggressive’ on DOGE cuts, Musk responds

President Donald Trump said Saturday he is happy with the work Elon Musk has done with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), but he has one complaint — Musk hasn’t gone far enough.

The president wrote on Truth Social that the tech billionaire is “doing a great job,” but should be “more aggressive.”

“ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE. REMEMBER, WE HAVE A COUNTRY TO SAVE, BUT ULTIMATELY, TO MAKE GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. MAGA!,” Trump wrote.

A few hours after Trump’s Truth Social post, Musk responded with an enthusiastic post of his own on X. “Will do, Mr. President!” Musk wrote.

According to the agency’s website, as of Feb. 17, 2025, DOGE’s total estimated savings are around $55 billion. The agency attributes this to “a combination of fraud detection/deletion, contract/lease cancelations, contract/lease renegotiations, asset sales, grant cancelations, workforce reductions, programmatic changes, and regulatory savings.”

WHAT HAS DOGE CUT SO FAR?

DOGE has been the subject of multiple controversies since it was officially established on Jan. 20, with several Democrats dismissing or publicly condemning the agency. There are also critics who take issue with the agency’s access to federal systems, including the Treasury Department’s payment system.

In a statement, Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Ore., said it was “impossible for us to do that important work when unelected billionaire Elon Musk and his lackeys are set on burning down the government.” She also accused Musk of trying to “line his own pockets and rip off Americans.”

Much of DOGE’s work so far has been focused on tackling diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The agency has canceled numerous government contracts, which it says have saved the American people millions. 

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was also a major focus for DOGE. According to the White House, some of the DEI initiatives funded by USAID included $1.5 million to push DEI in Serbia, $70,000 for a DEI musical in Ireland and $47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia.

DOGE, though, seems to not only be looking for ways to cut spending, but also for a possible opportunity to give some of the savings back to the American people through dividend payments.

MUSK WEIGHS A ‘DOGE DIVIDEND’ TO SEND AMERICANS CHECKS USING SAVED FUNDS

James Fishback, CEO of investment firm Azoria, came up with the idea for DOGE to issue refunds to Americans based on its savings. When he initially posted about the idea, Fishback urged DOGE to send the savings it created “back to hard-working Americans as a tax refund check. It was their money in the first place!” 

In a letter published on his X account, Fishback put out a detailed proposal on how the dividend would work. Fishback suggested that the checks be sent out after DOGE’s expiration in July 2026 and that they be funded “exclusively with a portion of the total savings delivered by DOGE.”

Musk told the crowd at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that Trump “is supportive” of the dividend idea, though there has been no formal action taken as of Feb. 22.