Since Trump announced the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk, this special department has attracted widespread attention.

Recently, the “Government Efficiency Department” released a recruitment notice through its X platform account, inviting “reformers with outstanding intelligence, willing to work more than 80 hours a week, and advocating the concept of small government” to join.

Musk then posted a special post to supplement his explanation: “This will be a tedious job, with many enemies and zero compensation. What a good deal!” At the end of this post, he also attached a “smiling and crying” expression.

The alternative recruitment advertisement has aroused curiosity among global onlookers about how Musk will lead the reform of the “Government Efficiency Department”.

Today, the author will analyze whether the “Woof Team” led by Musk can make great contributions to Trump.

The US government is truly a ‘resource black hole’.

As the leader of the “Government Efficiency Department,” Musk has repeatedly criticized the inefficiency of the US government and vowed to end “crazy deficit spending” and “suffocating bureaucracy.

From a practical perspective, the US government has indeed been facing the dilemma of ‘spending a lot of money but not being able to accomplish anything’ for a long time.

Unable to make ends meet, with high debts.

In the fiscal year 2024, the budget expenditure of the US federal government reached $6.75 trillion, of which the fiscal deficit was $1.83 trillion, and the total debt of the federal government was as high as $35.7 trillion.

The total amount of debt far exceeds the total GDP, with annual interest expenses alone reaching $1.1 trillion.

What is the concept of $1.1 trillion? It should be known that in 2023, only 19 countries in the world will have a GDP of more than US $1 trillion, and US $1.1 trillion is equivalent to the total GDP of Türkiye.

In other words, the US government will spend one Türkiye every year just for debt interest! And ultimately, all of this money will have to be paid by the American people.

On November 23rd, Musk forwarded a tweet from the “Government Efficiency Department” about the US government debt and commented that “the US is currently heading towards bankruptcy at an extremely fast pace”.

The US government not only spends a lot, but also often spends outrageously.

According to media reports, the US federal government suffers losses ranging from $233 billion to $521 billion annually due to fraud, making it a true “scapegoat”.

As for various bizarre financial expenditures, they are not uncommon.

The US media once exposed that the Department of Defense abandoned equipment worth $170 million outdoors for damage, and the Pentagon even spent nearly $10000 to buy a water tank to raise lobsters.

The federal government, which spends so much money like water, inevitably makes Musk, who has long been obsessed with reducing costs and increasing efficiency, look anxious.

Dismantling the inner bucket of the platform does not work properly.

At present, the number of government officials in the United States is as high as 22.36 million, equivalent to 6.7% of the total population of the United States.

These civil servants do not need to be elected, but they have a huge impact on policy formulation and implementation, and are seen as the “deep government” that truly controls the operation of the United States.

They often defend the interests of their departments in their own way, treating those department heads who change with the government as “cute little puppets who come and go in a hurry”. It is common for them to sing a different tune, and various tricks and tricks are constantly emerging.

In addition to this large civil service team, there are about a thousand senior officials in the United States who need to be appointed by the Senate, and these officials are also not at ease.

Donald Trump publicly said that the biggest mistake in his first term was improper employment, and he was publicly backed by many government officials.

The vicious struggle between the two parties and the internal power struggle within the White House are the norm in American politics.

During his first term of office, Donald Trump was repeatedly constrained by the Senate to appoint personnel, and it often took several months for senior officials to be approved.

Minister Ma has shown great ambition.

Musk couldn’t hide his excitement about being appointed as the head of the “Government Efficiency Department” and recently posted over 50 messages on the X platform announcing various reform plans.

From the statements of Musk and his partner Ramaswami, it seems that the “Government Efficiency Department” is really going to do a big job.

Reduce fiscal expenditures.

As early as October, Musk publicly stated that his goal was to cut government spending by $2 trillion, almost one-third of the annual US government spending.

This figure exceeds the total expenditure of the US federal government on defense, education, veterans’ healthcare, and other discretionary projects in the previous fiscal year.

But in the 2024 fiscal year, the expenditures on social security, medical insurance, and healthcare in the United States will account for 49%. Musk wants to cut the budget by $2 trillion, and these livelihood areas will naturally account for the majority of the expenses.

Many American experts have expressed that such large-scale spending cuts are simply difficult to achieve in the short term, and if forcibly pushed, could lead to the collapse of government performance or trigger strong resistance from the public.

Abolish government agencies.

Musk has made it clear that the number of federal government agencies in the United States needs to be reduced by about 75%, leaving 99 out of 428 agencies.

According to US media reports, Musk plans to cut institutions including the US Department of Justice, Department of Education, Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Taxation Office, and National Public Radio.

But in reality, it’s not that easy to disband these institutions.

Federal agencies in the United States are established by Congress in the form of legislation to achieve specific government functions, and cannot be “cut at will” when the law is well founded. To abolish it, it must go through the deliberation process of Congress.

At present, although the Republican Party controls both houses of Congress, it only holds a slim majority and has not gained an overwhelming majority of seats. (See also the article “The Republican Party has won the House of Representatives, but has not yet reached the point where they can do whatever they want”)

Dismissal of federal employees.

Ramaswami has publicly stated that he will implement a “massive layoff” and even dismiss federal employees based on their social security accounts. “Those who end in odd numbers will be fired, while those who end in even numbers will be left behind, which can reduce the size of the government by half.

But as analyzed earlier, the ‘deep government’ is an important behind the scenes force manipulating the United States, and to manipulate their cheese, various’ soft boycotts’ and ‘stumbling blocks’ are inevitable.

In fact, a committee similar to the “Government Efficiency Department” was established as early as Reagan’s presidency. After conducting a comprehensive review of government departments, this committee submitted a lengthy report containing 2500 suggestions, but it was rarely adopted and the reform was left unresolved.

Iron Man may become a scapegoat.

The ‘Wangwang Team’ is just a ‘temporary worker’.

The Ministry of Government Efficiency is ambitious, but in fact, it is not a formal government department authorized by Congress. Essentially, it is a consulting agency.

Musk and Ramaswami do not have any executive power and can only provide advice to the White House.

Moreover, as an external consulting agency, the Department of Government Efficiency is not only guided by the White House Office of Management and Budget, but also subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).

FACA will limit the participation of the “Government Efficiency Department” to prevent excessive intervention and ensure that the department has limited influence and cannot directly decide federal government policies.

To a large extent, the “Government Efficiency Department” will serve Donald Trump personally, and whether its ambitious program can be implemented depends on whether Donald Trump supports it.

Whether the cooperation between Donald Trump and Musk is a chemical reaction or a spark, I’m afraid it will take time to observe.

A task that is almost impossible to complete.

At present, Donald Trump has defined the “life span” of the “Government Efficiency Department”: less than two years.

The work of Musk and Ramaswami will end on July 4, 2026, with the aim of ‘giving a big gift package to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States’.

Simply put, the effectiveness of the reform of the “Government Efficiency Department” is to serve the US midterm elections in November 2026.

The bureaucratic structure of the US government is large and complex, and the long-standing interests and inherent systems are difficult to easily change.

Musk aims to take advantage of the Republican Party’s control over both houses of Congress to dismantle, reduce redundant regulatory regulations and wasteful spending, and restructure federal agencies in less than two years, which is almost an ‘impossible task’.

Minister Ma may be eliminated first.

The “Government Efficiency Department” has not yet officially opened, but the remarks of Musk and Ramaswami have already attracted attention from the American public opinion, and criticisms and doubts are constantly being heard.

Former Treasury Secretary Summers publicly stated that budget cuts are difficult to achieve, and CNN and other media outlets have also expressed their pessimism about the relevant plans.

Fukuyama, an American political scientist and proponent of the “end of history” theory, directly sent an open letter to Musk, stating that Musk “will never be able to manage the government like he manages a business,” believing that Musk’s reform measures are putting the cart before the horse.

And some Democratic bigwigs even question Musk’s willingness to investigate the interests involved in being both a “minister” and doing business.

Ideals are full, reality is tough.

Once the reform of the “Government Efficiency Department” touches the practical interests of all parties, it is hard to say whether the “redundant officials, redundant personnel, and redundant expenses” will be laid off first, or whether the “Wangwang team” will be removed first.

Whether ‘Minister Ma’ will become a ‘superhero’ who completes Mission Impossible or a sacrificial lamb in political struggles remains to be seen.