Elon Musk’s reform of the U.S. government apparatus is expected to be more successful than his predecessors for two main reasons.

According to Business Insider (BI), the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, could achieve greater success than previous efforts under Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

This prediction is based on two main factors: an advantage in information gathering and the support of the Republican Party in Congress.

Agreeing with this view, ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood believes Elon Musk will perform well in his new role thanks to the companies he himself has developed.

A Businessman as “Secretary”

“I think Elon Musk will bring efficiency to the government,” CEO Wood stated to Fortune.

According to Wood, Musk’s extensive knowledge in technology, combined with the data gathering and support capabilities of companies like Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, will give him a significant advantage in reforming the government.

“Artificial intelligence (AI) will be at the heart of everything, and information resources are now the main trend. Thus, Musk’s ability to gather extensive data through his companies gives him an edge,” Wood emphasized.

Previously, Tesla’s CEO highlighted that data is an asset even more valuable than gold, explaining why Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI place such a strong emphasis on user and customer data.

It’s worth noting that Elon Musk’s SpaceX operates the Starlink satellite Internet system, providing worldwide Internet coverage, while Tesla, a renowned electric vehicle manufacturer, is developing self-driving services that collect customer data to personalize features. Not to mention, xAI includes Twitter-X with hundreds of millions of social media users sharing information.

These technological and informational advantages may make Musk a more successful “Secretary” than others in streamlining the government apparatus.

Additionally, CEO Wood noted that Musk’s entrepreneurial spirit and ability to build “impossible” companies will help him achieve what many see as challenging goals.

“We doubted Elon Musk for many years and with many projects, but he has gone on to build one successful company after another,” Wood admired.

According to CEO Wood, billionaire Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will use advanced technologies and an entrepreneurial mindset to influence government spending, something no politician has done before, bringing about positive changes.

Of course, aside from technology, data, and entrepreneurial spirit, Republican support is also essential in making Musk more successful than his predecessors.

Photo 3: Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and billionaire Elon Musk

Greater Success

BI notes that the Republican Party’s dominance in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in this election is a significant advantage that could help Musk succeed more than previous efforts to streamline the government and reduce the budget deficit.

In theory, any ambitious budget-cutting decision, including Musk’s pledge to cut $2 trillion, requires 51 Senate votes. Currently, the Republicans hold 52 seats, which could allow “Secretary” Elon Musk to pass numerous policies more easily.

This is a tremendous advantage because the U.S. government is not a business. Decisions about which agencies receive funding and for what purpose are typically discussed in Congress rather than solely decided by the President.

This situation has posed challenges for Presidents Reagan and Clinton in their attempts to cut the budget deficit, which ultimately fell short.

In 1982, then-President Ronald Reagan tasked J. Peter Grace, a chemical company executive, with forming a group similar to Elon Musk’s DOGE to streamline the government, cut waste, and improve efficiency.

Two years later, the “Grace Commission,” comprised of about 160 CEOs, released more than 2,000 recommendations that were estimated to save over $424 billion within three years.

However, Congress did not welcome the proposal, as reforms like strengthening public debt collection and reducing the workforce faced resistance.

Since then, the nonprofit organization Citizens Against Government Waste, which took on the Grace Commission’s mission, claims that the U.S. government has saved a total of $2.4 trillion since the 1980s by implementing some of the recommendations from the Grace Commission and from the nonprofit itself.

Under President Bill Clinton, the White House also attempted to cut federal spending through a performance review program. This initiative successfully reduced over 300,000 government employees.

Photo 4

However, only a quarter of the recommendations from this initiative were approved by Congress, meaning efforts to reduce the budget deficit and streamline the government were not fully successful.

By 1999, President Clinton’s administration announced that it had saved $137 billion.

According to BI, Musk’s efforts under Trump could go even further with a much more ambitious plan, thanks to the Republican majority in Congress.

Trump stated that DOGE has until July 4, 2026, to present a plan, but Musk noted in a Twitter-X post that the plan “will be executed much faster.”

Source: BI, Fortune