Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and co-head of the newly established Government Efficiency Department in the second Trump administration, along with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, visited the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on the 5th (local time) to outline the “streamlining of the federal government,” marking the start of their activities. They met with Republican members of the House and Senate to exchange views on the upcoming Trump administration’s efforts to reduce federal spending and regulations.
With both the House and Senate expected to have Republican majorities in the new Congress starting in January, there are no significant obstacles anticipated for the extensive changes planned by the Government Efficiency Department.
Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House (Republican), stated, “We have long been concerned about the increasing size and scope of the government,” suggesting that while the government does too much, it effectively achieves very little. Senator John Thune, who will take over as the Senate Republican Leader next year, noted that he did not hear specific details of cuts proposed by the Government Efficiency Department but was informed about their broad objectives.
Musk reportedly stated in response to questions about “electric vehicle subsidies” after his meeting with Senator John Thune that “I think all subsidies should be eliminated.” This aligns with a Reuters report from last month that Trump’s transition team intends to abolish the Biden administration’s “electric vehicle subsidies,” with Musk expressing support for this stance.
The Biden administration, under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), provides subsidies of up to $7,500 per vehicle for electric cars manufactured in the United States. Trump, in his campaign, frequently criticized the IRA policy, pledging to end the “EV mandate” policy. Musk has also claimed that federal spending could be cut by $2 trillion annually, amounting to 30% of the total, and that reducing the number of federal agencies from 428 to 99 would be sufficient.