Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have been appointed to lead a new government-efficiency commission created by Donald Trump. The stated goal is to cut government spending and one approach being considered involves reducing or eliminating certain federal agencies.
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As Business Insider reports, while Ramaswamy expects to “delete” whole government agencies, Musk emphasized that the plan is not to leave people without support but to streamline the federal workforce in areas they consider “bloated.” He has mentioned the possibility of offering severance packages of up to two years’ pay to those affected.
According to official government data, 2,278,730 Americans worked for the federal government as of March 2024. Some departments are significantly larger than others. For example, the Department of Veterans Affairs employs nearly half a million people, while the Department of Education has just over 4,000 employees. Within the Treasury Department, most of the 100,000+ employees work for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Departments with more than 100,000 employees:
- Department of Veterans Affairs (486,522)
- Department of Homeland Security (222,539)
- Department of the Army (221,037)
- Department of the Navy (216,537)
- Department of the Air Force (168,505)
- Department of Defense (156,803)
- Department of Justice (116,614)
- Department of the Treasury (108,869)
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Many federal workers earn competitive salaries, with most departments offering six-figure averages. The Department of Education and Energy tend to have the highest average salaries among government agencies, at $144,561 and $143,486, respectively.
Departments with the highest average salary:
- Department of Education ($144,561)
- Department of Energy ($143,486)
- Department of Transportation ($139,474)
- Department of Housing and Urban Development ($134,503)
- Department of State ($132,587)
- Department of Health and Human Services ($130,117)
This is not the first time a commission like this has been formed. According to Business Insider, Ronald Reagan had the Grace Commission in the 1980s, which aimed to find waste and inefficiencies in federal spending. However, it is important to note that Musk and Ramaswamy’s new effort does not have the authority to make these changes on its own – it will need Congress to back its recommendations.
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To fulfill their goals, Musk and Ramaswamy are seeking “super high-iQ small-government revolutionaries” to help reduce federal inefficiencies under President-elect Donald Trump. DOGE’s official account on X posted a call for applicants willing to work 80+ hours a week to streamline government spending and cut bureaucracy. Interested candidates are encouraged to DM their CVs, with Musk and Ramaswamy supposedly personally reviewing the top 1% of applicants.
While Musk and Ramaswamy’s approach aims to make the government “leaner” and potentially more efficient, there are significant concerns regarding the impact of such drastic cuts. Eliminating entire agencies could result in disruptions to essential public services, affecting everything from health care to education to veterans’ support. The loss of federal jobs could also have a broader economic impact, particularly in regions where government employment forms a significant part of the local economy.
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