The DOGE Data: Musk Slashes Billions in Government Waste | 3.15.25

Summary

Morning Wire Podcast Summary: "The DOGE Data: Musk Slashes Billions in Government Waste" | March 15, 2025

Introduction

In the March 15, 2025 episode of Morning Wire, hosted by Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley and co-host Georgia Howe, the focus centers on significant government budget cuts spearheaded by the Elon Musk-led initiative, DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency). The episode delves into the recent announcement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to eliminate over 80% of USAID-funded programs and explores the broader implications of DOGE's $100 billion in cost-saving measures. Joining the discussion is Eric Eggers, Vice President of the Government Accountability Institute and co-host of Drill Down with Peter Schweitzer.

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DOGE and Government Spending Cuts

John Bickley opens the conversation by addressing the pressure and backlash faced by DOGE, questioning the actual accomplishments of DOGE and Musk's administration. Eric Eggers provides a detailed analysis, highlighting DOGE's identification of approximately $105 billion in potential savings through lease terminations, contract cancellations, and reductions in the federal workforce.

Eric Eggers [01:05]: "They've identified something like $105 billion worth of things that can be cut between a combination of lease terminations, contract cancellations, and then federal employees who will be, let's call it, excused from the federal workforce."

Eggers emphasizes that beyond the financial metrics, DOGE has successfully shifted the national conversation towards fiscal responsibility, making budget cuts a socially acceptable and even desirable objective.

Eric Eggers [02:33]: "We're making cutting spending cool again or they are and we're happy for it."

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Impact of Social Media and Transparency

The podcast highlights the pivotal role of social media, particularly Elon Musk's platform X (formerly Twitter), in amplifying DOGE's initiatives. Eggers credits the transparency fostered by social media for exposing government inefficiencies previously hidden by legacy media gatekeepers.

Eric Eggers [03:12]: "The Trump administration has become the most radically transparent administration in recent memory... everything's being exposed in real time."

This unprecedented level of transparency allows the American public to directly access information and assess government actions without intermediary distortions.

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Specific Areas of Cost-Cutting

1. USAID Program Cuts

   Secretary Marco Rubio's announcement to cancel 83% of USAID programs marks one of DOGE's most significant actions, translating to billions in savings and the termination of over 5,200 contracts.

   Eric Eggers [06:26]: "That's tens of billions of dollars in savings represented by 5,200 contracts."

2. Federal Real Estate

   DOGE targets federal real estate, proposing up to a 25% reduction of the 360 million square feet under government control. This includes a 63% cut in the Public Building Services Division and the elimination of approximately 1,000 federal jobs.

   Eric Eggers [05:25]: "They're willing to cut or proposing to cut up to 25% or a quarter of that space."

3. Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

   A major focus is the IRS, which plans to reduce its workforce from 100,000 to approximately 50,000 employees. This contrasts sharply with the Biden administration's previous expansion of IRS staff by 88,000 agents.

   Eric Eggers [07:45]: "They're prepared to cut that in at least half... cutting the IRS staff by half does seem to be something that a majority of Americans favor."

Eggers also mentions proposals to replace the IRS with an External Revenue Service, though the effectiveness of such measures remains to be seen.

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Political Dynamics and Pushback

The episode explores the political tensions surrounding DOGE's initiatives. Democrats have mounted legal challenges and public relations campaigns, asserting that DOGE’s cuts adversely affect veterans and other critical services.

Eric Eggers [11:55]: "Nothing the Democrats appear to be doing seems to be effective right now."

Despite these challenges, Republicans appear unified in supporting DOGE's efforts. The administration leverages rescission orders, a budgetary tool reminiscent of Ronald Reagan's tenure, to secure funding cuts with a simple majority in Congress.

Eggers attributes part of DOGE's success to Elon Musk’s influence on social media, which pressures Republican legislators to align with the administration's fiscal policies.

Eric Eggers [10:35]: "Elon Musk... can use Twitter to put pressure on vulnerable and potentially weak members of this Trump coalition."

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Future Outlook for DOGE

Looking ahead, Eggers remains optimistic about DOGE’s trajectory. He anticipates continued grassroots support leading to further budgetary reforms and spending cuts. The interaction between transparent government actions and public scrutiny is expected to foster a more accountable and efficient federal government.

Eric Eggers [13:20]: "We live in a democracy and so people have a chance to see what it is and decide for themselves."

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with a reflection on the broader implications of DOGE's initiatives for the American government and its citizens. For many private-sector workers observing government downsizing, DOGE's actions underscore a long-overdue shift towards fiscal responsibility. The conversation between John Bickley and Eric Eggers encapsulates a pivotal moment in American governance, where transparency, social media influence, and bipartisan cooperation converge to redefine government spending.

John Bickley [13:32]: "Many are left asking, why hasn't the government been doing this all along?"

As DOGE continues to implement and advocate for cost-saving measures, Morning Wire positions itself as a critical lens through which listeners can understand and engage with the evolving landscape of American politics and government efficiency.

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Notable Quotes

• Eric Eggers [01:05]: "They've identified something like $105 billion worth of things that can be cut..."
• Eric Eggers [02:33]: "We're making cutting spending cool again or they are and we're happy for it."
• Eric Eggers [03:12]: "The Trump administration has become the most radically transparent administration in recent memory..."
• Eric Eggers [05:25]: "They're willing to cut or proposing to cut up to 25% or a quarter of that space."
• Eric Eggers [07:45]: "cutting the IRS staff by half does seem to be something that a majority of Americans favor."
• Eric Eggers [10:35]: "Elon Musk... can use Twitter to put pressure on vulnerable and potentially weak members of this Trump coalition."
• Eric Eggers [13:20]: "We live in a democracy and so people have a chance to see what it is and decide for themselves."
• John Bickley [13:32]: "Why hasn't the government been doing this all along?"

This comprehensive summary captures the essence of the episode, providing listeners with an in-depth understanding of DOGE's role in reshaping government spending, the political dynamics at play, and the influence of social media in modern governance.

Transcript

[John Bickley]

This week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he was slashing more than 80% of the programs funded by USAID. The move comes as the Elon Musk led DOGE continues to add to its running list of cost saving measures, which it says have now topped $100 billion. In this episode, we sit down with the Government Accountability Institute's Eric Eggers to discuss the accomplishments of Doge as well as the headwinds it faces in the coming months. I'm Daily W Editor in Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Saturday, March 15th, and this is a weekend edition of Morning Wire. Joining us now is Eric Eggers, vice president of the Government Accountability Institute and co host of the Drill down with Peter Schweitzer. Eric, thank you so much for joining us. Always great to talk to you.

[Eric Eggers]

Hey, John, it's my pleasure.

[John Bickley]

So look, you guys have been tracking the Doge accomplishments so far. There's a lot of pressure on Doge, a lot of backlash from the left, some maybe not so organic backlash. But what's the truth? How much has Doge and Musk actually accomplished so far?

[Eric Eggers]

So I guess it depends on how you want to measure accomplishments. If we're talking just dollars and cents, I think that their accomplishments are quite quantifiable. They've identified something like $105 billion worth of things that can be cut between a combination of lease terminations, contract cancellations, and then federal employees who will be, let's call it, excused from the federal workforce. And obviously some of those federal government leases can amount to almost a half a billion dollars. They've identified things like software licenses with at least a couple of agencies where you have twice as many software licenses, I think 37,000 WinZip licenses in the General Services Administration for 13,000 employees. So the examples like that are quite obvious. But I think they've actually been more successful, John, in changing the way we have conversations about budgeting in the federal government. I'm old enough to remember when Mitt Romney essentially ran for president on this back in 2012 with the platform of we're spending more than we're making, our budget deficits are leading to death, it's costing us way too much money and interest. And the American people largely yawned. And so fast forward 13 years later, now it's something that's leading the news. You're reporting on this and it's become a focus of the current presidential administration. That's ultimately the success I think DOGE has had. We're making cutting spending cool again or they are and we're happy for it.

[John Bickley]

Yeah, I want to talk about that more. The messaging on this and X plays a major role in this. We have the guy leading this charge, leading Doge, unofficially or officially, however you want to see it. Elon Musk has his own platform that is constantly pumping out information on this thing. The American people now are seeing a lot of things exposed in the federal government that's never been exposed before. It wouldn't have been able to be exposed because of the gatekeepers in the legacy media. Tell us about the impact of social media also. Just the marketing sort of wing of the Trump administration. They're very effective. How has that changed the conversation?

[Eric Eggers]

Yeah, I think the Trump administration has become the most radically transparent administration in recent memory, potentially even in American history. I think certainly in American history, when you consider the fact that everything's being exposed in real time. And so things like even his conversation with President Zelensky a couple of weeks ago, it make more sense if you look at it in the context of no things are no longer prepackaged and hidden from the American people and then messaged in a very intentional way that's quite honestly quite deceitful, as certain things were under the Biden administration. Now you're seeing for yourself, you are the first consumer of the organic material and you can decide, hey, what, you know, was President Trump and J.D. vance rude or was President Zelensky rude? What happened there? And that's exactly what's happened here. They're saying, listen, we have lots of ridiculous contracts to do things like pay for military members to have conversations about how to have DEI conversations with online avatars. And you've heard the numbers examples of, you know, transgender studies in different countries. And so it's all quite ridiculous. And so the fact that Elon Musk and his team at X can take the specific examples and give them directly to the American people. I mean, remember it wasn't that long ago where a lot of other media platforms had employees threatened to quit if anything in a non complimentary way was said about members of the trans movement. So that's how dramatically different the conversation even is. Not only are we willing to say, listen, I'm not sure spending money on trans related issues is you worth tax dollars and you're not threatened with a boycott or being canceled. That actually now gets elevated by a significant percentage of the American people because that's ultimate chose when they chose Donald Trump as president, they said, listen, we just want people to be honest. We want to stop playing games not just in terms of like what people are told to be our values, but then what they're spending our money on towards those values.

[John Bickley]

Now, to drill down a little bit here, you mentioned leases. This is something that I know you guys have looked at closely. The cost savings from Doge's reassessment of leases. There's 360 million square feet of real estate that the government has control over. What are we seeing on that front from this administration?

[Eric Eggers]

Yeah, so they're willing to cut or proposing to cut up to 25% or a quarter of that space. I think that they're targeting something like a 63% reduction in the public building Services division. According to the General Services Agency, which oversees the federal real estate, something like a thousand workers are estimated to be removed from the workforce. And this is just one of a number of agencies that are saying, listen, we're going to take this quite seriously. Some people have suggested that it's all sort of smoked smoke and mirrors and there's no real follow through. And the fact that there was and will be a vote on a continuing resolution by Congress suggests. Well, there was an effort to try to fund everything this year at last year's levels, which some said would maybe neuter Doge's efforts. But then no less than Secretary of State Marco Rubio has come out and said, listen, usaid, which is under the Department of State, that was the first agency to be targeted for a thorough analysis by Doge. And Marco Rubio says, listen, now, after a six week review, we're going to cancel 83% of the programs.

[John Bickley]

Stunning.

[Eric Eggers]

That's tens of billions of dollars in savings represented by 5,200 contracts. And so I think that just shows you that the process is working. You have Doge come in from the outside, they identify these things, they hold them up. And then at President Trump's direction at a recent Cabinet meeting, the agency heads themselves are the ones that are going to ultimately kind of put into place those actual cuts. So I think that's actually how the government is supposed to work. And so I think we're seeing that happen in real time kind of for the first time in American history. And now to your point, John, about the pushback, I think that's another sign of how successful Doge has been, because the conversation has changed even around that. So the conversation is no longer like, oh, is that something we should be spending money on? The conversation as well? Yeah, sure, Doge is being effective, but it's a drop in the bucket as compared to what the Actual federal deficit is as if the goal of DOGE was something other than just to identify things. The American people would say, we don't want our tax dollars spent on that. The goal of DOGE is not to single handedly rescue the American budget deficit. The goal of DOGE is to eliminate wasteful spending and getting rid of waste, fraud and abuse. And that's what they're doing now.

[John Bickley]

The Internal Revenue Service is another major focus of the administration. What are we seeing in terms of estimates on reduction of staff there?

[Eric Eggers]

Yeah, it's significant. It started the second Trump administration with 100,000 employees, and they're prepared to cut that in at least half, according to some reporting. And so there was a very high profile example of the Biden administration hiring 88,000 more IRS agents and there was some talk about giving them weapons. But as of right now, we've got a hundred thousand. They're suggesting cutting it in half. And of course, some people will say, well, that's no way to run a government. The Trump administration's making noise about replacing the Internal Revenue Service with the External Revenue Service with the implementation of new tariffs. It remains to be seen if that happens a and if it does, how much revenue they'll actually bring in. But the IRS is another one. And based on what we've been able to identify, it does seem, if you can believe it, John, that cutting the IRS staff by half does seem to be something that a majority of Americans favor. Wow.

[John Bickley]

Can't believe it. You know, you mentioned some of the ways this is being reported on and pushed back against by the Democrats. The talking points we're hearing, we have a legal effort that's a major part of that. Where do you see the vulnerabilities for Doge and where do you see the clear wins in the future for them?

[Eric Eggers]

So I would say this is another example of just having an honest conversation in a transparent way about the way government's supposed to work. We all heard the fact that democracy was on the ballot during the election last year. The fact that Donald Trump won. You saw Democrats protesting during his most recent congressional address that he's a dictator. The fact that the Supreme Court actually sided with a lower court judge in stopping the freeze on some USAID funding suggests that the multiple levers of government continue to work and that it's not just a unilateral effort on behalf of President Trump to just decree what he wants to happen and everyone else complies. The Supreme Court obviously did not in that instance. But Congress does appear to be willing to come to his rescue. So there's an effort this week to do something called rescission. And this is basically, it's an executive order that Ronald Reagan used a lot in 1981. He proposed 133 rescissions in Congress, approved 101 of them. Basically just he says, listen, I think this is a specific thing that we should no longer fund. We should rescind the funding of it. And so Congress has the opportunity to do that. There's an expectation that they will attempt to do that on the budget for things like Doge proposed cuts. And the good news for congressional Republicans and for the Trump administration is it requires only a simple majority on behalf of Congress to do that, which is good for Republicans because that's all they have.

[John Bickley]

Yeah. And so far, they've held together better than I think a lot of people feared in some of these early challenges that they faced with their very thin majority in the House. We'll see how the Senate holds up. But so far, we've seen all of Trump's nominees get through pretty easily, and I think that's surprised a lot of people.

[Eric Eggers]

Well, John, just to your point about the role that Elon Musk is playing, not just from an identification of wasteful spending, but also as essentially a chief marketing officer for this effort, the reason why I think they've had so much success in anything they've attempted to do, including getting his nominees passed and having votes held in a way that's favorable for the Trump administration, is largely due to the unwavering support of Elon Musk and the fact that he can use Twitter to put pressure on vulnerable and potentially weak members of this Trump coalition. And so I think there's the fact that you saw people like Joanie Ernst vote in favor of someone like Pete Hegseth when she'd previously expressed a significant reluctance to do so, does speak in part to the power of, let's call it a transparent effort to elevate. Here's somebody who's potentially pushing back on this, and they hear from a lot of their constituents, and it seems to be working so far.

[John Bickley]

Yeah, it's a great point. Final question, in terms of the messaging that Democrats are trying to coalesce around, that we're at the whim of a billionaire oligarchy. Bernie Sanders is using that talking point, as are many other Democrats and legacy outlets, do you see that being effective in winning a significant number of Americans over to their side against the sort of Trump Musk initiatives?

[Eric Eggers]

I would say it's at least as effective as creating social media content where you have female members of Congress bouncing up and down as if they were video game avatars. They should continue to do more of that. Seems to be incredibly effective. Nothing the Democrats appear to be doing seems to be effective right now. They've gone so far as to suggest that the biggest thing that the Doge cuts are doing is hurting veterans. It's 2025, John, and Democrats are now very concerned about the plight of veterans in the federal government. 30% of civil service employees are veterans and many have lost jobs in the Trump administration, is the line you will read in a number of mainstream media reporting accounts of what's happening here. And the reality is is that whomever the background is of the people that work for the federal government, at the end of the day, everything that's being done in the name of cutting spending is being identified and posted on the DOGE website. And then you have conversations. And at the end of the day, we live in a democracy and so people have a chance to see what it is and decide for themselves. Because you're now seeing local media reporting doing the work of saying, listen this, these are cuts that are a result of what's happened at the federal government. And if people decide that that's hitting too close to home, then I think you'll see public effort coming the other way. Organic, grassroots push back on this and then we'll see if their elected representatives are responsive to that or not. That's how it's supposed to work. And I think that's where the conversation is today.

[John Bickley]

And meanwhile, for the vast majority of Americans who work in the private sector, seeing cost cutting measures and downsizing of staff like this, it's nothing new. In fact, many are left asking, why hasn't the government been doing this all along?

[Eric Eggers]

Yeah, I, I totally agree, John. I, I, in fact, I plan on sending you an email when we're done with this interview, asking, what are the five things you think you accomplished during this conversation?

[John Bickley]

Oh, yeah. So I look forward to your response. I've got a ready list. I had ChatGPT created for me. Eric, thanks so much for joining us. Always informative and fun to talk to you. That was GAI Vice President Eric Eggers, co host of the Drill down with Peter Schweitzer, and this has been a weekend edition of Morning Wire.