On Friday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick criticized Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk's leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, saying the billionaire prioritized firing workers over slashing waste, fraud and abuse, undermining the initiative's original mission.
Lutnick: Musk Took The Wrong Lesson From Twitter
Speaking on the premiere of The Axios Show, Lutnick said Musk applied his Twitter-style playbook to the federal government, cutting jobs aggressively but achieving little in terms of meaningful savings.
"I thought Elon got caught up in other people's objectives," Lutnick said. "The focus should have been on cutting the waste, fraud and abuse and the people you could do over time… I thought he got that backward."
Lutnick added that the government could likely be trimmed by 10% to 15%, but he argued that change should come through cabinet secretaries carefully evaluating their departments rather than through sweeping layoffs.
DOGE Savings Fall Short Of Lofty Goals
Musk started spearheading DOGE in January 2025 after President Donald Trump returned to office, pledging to eliminate $1 trillion to $2 trillion in annual federal spending.
He stepped down four months later. At the time, the program had documented only about $175 billion in savings. Today, its website lists savings of $206 billion, largely from contract cancellations, fraud detection, asset sales and workforce reductions.
Musk's Brief And Controversial Tenure
Musk's short-lived four-month tenure was defined by sweeping layoffs across federal agencies, the shutdown of USAID, and a string of contentious messages, including "fork in the road" resignation emails.
His approach mirrored his moves at Twitter, where headcount was cut dramatically after his 2022 takeover.
Despite falling short of expectations, Trump honored Musk in May with a ceremonial golden key to the White House. At the time, Musk insisted DOGE would "only grow stronger" and described it as "a way of life."
Clash With Trump And Musk's Exit
Musk resigned after publicly criticizing Trump's $3.8 trillion budget plan, which he called harmful to DOGE's mission.
In a later interview, Musk admitted he might have devoted too much time to politics, describing his involvement in government as misallocated time.
DOGE continues to operate without Musk or many of his allies, with current leadership focusing on spending cuts over layoffs.
"DOGE is still pursuing that waste, fraud and abuse I think it’ll be effective," Lutnick said. "Less effective than I would've hoped, but I think it's still going to be effective."
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
