Billionaire Elon Musk was called out after he railed against critics during a Fox News interview for attacking his advisory Department of Government Efficiency's federal spending cuts, claiming they can't pinpoint anything that's "unconstitutional or illegal or whatever."
Speaking to network anchor Bret Baier, Musk defended DOGE's moves to gut the federal government and claimed that even unnamed Democrats have "occasionally" praised the initiative.
He said:
"Usually when they attack DOGE, they never attack any of the specifics. So they will say what we're doing is somehow unconstitutional or illegal or whatever. We are like, 'Well, which line of the cost savings do you disagree with?' And they can't point to any."
"We list them all on DOGE.gov and on [the DOGE X account]. And you see them say one outrageous thing after another."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Musk has stated that his goal is to reduce federal spending by $2 trillion from the $6.75 trillion annual budget recorded in the last fiscal year, which ended on September 30. According to DOGE, as of now its initiatives have led to an estimated $140 billion in savings. However, recent reports indicate that the actual savings may be significantly lower.
Last month, Bloomberg reported that the DOGE website accounts for only $16.6 billion of the $55 billion it claimed to have saved at the time. Additionally, The New York Times revealed that DOGE had incorrectly cited an $8 billion savings on a federal contract that was actually valued at just $8 million.
Laurence Tribe, a leading constitutional scholar and professor emeritus at Harvard Law School, has made clear he views Musk's actions as unconstitutional, saying Musk cannot legally wield sweeping control over multiple government departments.
Tribe warned that the absence of oversight on DOGE’s unconventional maneuvers raises concerns of both legal and ethical violations that could be challenged in court. Additionally, Tribe sees Musk’s dual role—as both a federal contractor, through ventures like Starlink’s Pentagon contracts, and a government official—as “absolutely” a conflict of interest.
Tribe also argued that Musk's move to enlist a team of young programmers who took control of the Treasury Department’s payment system, gaining access to Americans’ addresses, Social Security numbers, and bank account information, raises "serious issues of privacy."
DOGE is already entangled in legal battles over the Treasury controversy. One judge has placed a temporary hold on its full access to the payment system, while another has halted the deadline for federal workers to accept a buyout.
To say there are no controversial DOGE cuts is categorically false—and people were quick to call Musk out.
Despite causing widespread disruption, Musk has achieved little in terms of actual cost savings for the government.
Many of the budget cuts DOGE has touted as proof of its transparency have been misleading or outright false. Errors as glaring as claiming credit for programs that ended years ago or confusing millions with billions raise serious questions about the competence of those leading the effort.
Budget analysts have struggled to verify the supposed savings, which appear negligible. Jessica Riedl, a budget expert at the Manhattan Institute, recently estimated the actual savings at roughly $2 billion—just one-tenth of 1 percent of Musk’s original target.
Meanwhile, prediction markets that once expected DOGE to slash $300 billion in spending within its first year have drastically lowered their estimates, now projecting only $1 billion in total savings.
Even these savings, however, don’t tell the full story. Some of Musk’s reckless cuts may reduce salary costs in the short term but will ultimately lead to greater financial losses, undermining any supposed budgetary gains.
@WhiteHouse/X
