Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) presented strategies to tech mogul Elon Musk on Thursday on how the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency could potentially cut government spending.
What Happened: Warren outlined as many as 30 recommendations in a letter to Musk, President Donald Trump’s close ally and head of the department. One of the prime suggestions was to negotiate better deals for Department of Defense contracts.
Other proposals included recreating the DoD Renegotiation Board to challenge excess profits, preventing the military from doing civilian jobs, and stopping corporate welfare for DoD contractors.
Warren also urged the transfer of Guantánamo Bay detainees to other countries and take steps to close the “world's most expensive detention program.”
She said if acted upon, her recommendations on defense spending would save the government $200 billion in the next 12 years.
The senator’s next piece of advice was for the federal health care program, Medicare, which included negotiating for lower drug prices, cracking down on Pharmacy Benefit Managers, and addressing the patent abuses by pharmaceutical firms.
At the same time, Warren opposed any steps to cut Medicare benefits, calling such a move “cruel” to American citizens.
She also called for closing tax loopholes that benefit big corporations and the rich.
See Also: Cathie Wood Was Asked If She Would Buy TRUMP Coin, Here’s What She Said
Why It Matters: These recommendations come after Warren’s previous concerns about Musk’s roles in the Trump administration and his potential conflicts of interest. The senator had said that Musk is the CEO of several companies that have government contracts, including SpaceX and Tesla.
The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is an entity tasked with cutting federal spending and abolishing superfluous regulations. However, Musk backtracked on his aggressive federal budget-cutting ambitions last week, shifting from saving “at least” $2 trillion in election rallies to calling it the “best-case outcome.”
DOGE also fell into trouble when a barrage of lawsuits was launched against it shortly after Trump took office earlier this week.
Price Action: Meanwhile, Dogecoin DOGE/USD was exchanging hands at $0.3459, down 2.40% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
This comes after the iconic Shiba Inu image, which had become a symbol of Dogecoin and the larger meme coin movement, was no longer available on the Department of Government Efficiency’s website.
Photo by Sheila Fitzgerald on Shutterstock
Read Next:
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
