Elon Musk has laid out a vision for deep government spending cuts, claiming that Donald Trump could cut at least $2 trillion from the federal budget if elected president.
“Your money is being wasted,” Musk said Sunday at a rally for Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York. “We’re going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook.”
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President Trump has given Musk, the world’s richest man and major donor to Republican candidates’ campaigns, a government spending cut called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), named after the cryptocurrency he adopted. He said he would like to ask the government to take the lead in this effort. .
Critics say this position would create a conflict of interest for Mr. Musk. The companies he runs, including Tesla and SpaceX, have billions of dollars worth of federal contracts and benefit from federal spending, including electric vehicle tax credits and infrastructure investments.
The $2 trillion goal represents nearly a third of existing spending. The federal government spent $6.75 trillion in fiscal year 2024, according to the Treasury Department.
Cantor Fitzgerald LP’s Howard Lutnick asked Musk on stage how much money he could “eat” in the budget under President Joe Biden and Trump’s rival, Vice President Kamala Harris. . Musk replied, “Well, I think we can do at least $2 trillion.”
During his campaign, Mr. Trump has talked about reducing the federal debt, but he has not detailed any specific plans for reducing it. Instead, Republican candidates are promising a long list of tax cuts targeted at key voter groups, and economists warn that the cuts will balloon the deficit.
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According to federal filings, Mr. Musk spent at least $132 million to elect Mr. Trump and other Republicans in 2024. This level of giving has propelled Musk into the upper echelons of political donors, making him one of the most prolific contributors throughout the 2024 cycle.
The contributions show how Mr. Musk, who has personally pushed back against government regulations, is expanding his network of political influence to include potential future presidents and members of Congress.
Musk is playing an unprecedented role in the 2024 political donation campaign. In addition to donating, he appeared on stage with Trump and held his own campaign rally without the former president.
new tax cuts
President Trump on Sunday unveiled a tax deduction for caregivers who care for family members, adding to a long list of tax proposals.
The Republican candidate did not provide details or say how he would pay for it. His package of tax proposals would target nearly all American households, including tipped workers, hourly workers, the elderly and high-income residents of Democratic-led states where he passed tax cuts while president. something is already included.
“They give so much to our country, but they’ve never been talked about before, and they’re going to continue to do so,” Trump said of family caregivers in a packed 20,000-seat arena. will be talked about.”
Harris proposes expanding Medicare to include home care services, an olive branch for seniors, and the so-called sandwich generation juggling caring for the elderly and children. He also proposes expanding tax credits for parents and expanding credits for startups, offset by higher taxes on corporations and wealthy households.
The former president also conducted an aggressive campaign of deregulation, reinstating expired tax cuts, lowering the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15% and providing new tax cuts and benefits to strengthen domestic manufacturing. I swore that I would. He said he would raise new revenue through flat tariffs he aims to impose on imports from both U.S. allies and adversaries. Economists have warned that the tariffs would not offset the cost of his proposed tax cuts and could increase costs for American households.
In an interview with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait earlier this month, President Trump said, without evidence, that the total value of his economic base would exceed the cost to taxpayers. Some investors predict that President Trump’s policies will leave the U.S. saddled with more debt, higher inflation and higher interest rates.
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