Musk’s DOGE targets California’s high-speed rail and anything else that hasn’t been nailed down

As DOGE, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s “Department of Government Efficiency” begins, the two billionaires are looking for federal programs and agencies to cut as they seek to advance Musk’s stated goal of cutting $2 trillion from the federal budget. While critics have pointed out that this goal, like much of Musk’s rhetoric, is hyperbolic to the point of impossibility, that hasn’t deterred the pair. loudly proclaim a growing list of targets in an attempt to instill fear and make it look like it. they are doing something.

One of their recently confirmed targets is California the long-suffering high-speed rail project. The federally funded effort, which Musk previously shot down, was originally approved by voters in a ballot initiative in 2008. Since then, less than a quarter of the proposed rail line has been built federal grants, although Trump, during his first term,put an end to it temporarily. When Biden took office, he re-enabled the funding pillar. Now, presumably, it will turn off again.

It used to be reported that Musk raised The Hyperloopa futuristic underground shuttle to cause trouble for a California rail project. Musk has talked a lot about the Hyperloop for years, but never intended to build it. It was a diversionary strategy that the car magnate reportedly hoped would get “the public and lawmakers to rethink” their investment in the train system. as he is into car sales.Ramaswamy was also targeting the project last week post on Musk’s platformX, calling the railway an “unprofitable vanity project” that wasted “billions of taxpayers’ cash with little prospect of completion in the next decade”. He added: “President Trump rightly canceled $1 billion in federal funds for this scam in 2019, but Biden reversed it and doubled it. It’s time to stop the waste.”

Ramaswamy’s comments came not long before he and Musk descended on Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers and discuss their upcoming plans.The two billionaires appeared in a closed-door session with Republicans in D.C. on Thursday reportedly discussed how DOGE will “revive the principle of limited government.” That meeting, attended by new Senate Republican leader John Thune, discussed potential funding cut targets that appeared to include mandatory spending programs. such as Social Security and Medicare. Indeed, NBC reports that Thune told a reporter that “mandatory programs may be areas they want to cut, like Social Security.” The news comes after a concerted push by some Republican leaders to demonize those plans.

Another target Musk has discussed has been federal subsidies for electric vehicles, a policy that Musk has reportedly pushed hard for that will no doubt benefit his own EV company, Tesla. said the journalist that he believes that the government “should get rid of all loans”. In July, Musk similarly proposed eliminating federal subsidies for electric companies. installation X:“Remove the subsidies. It will only help Tesla,” he added. “Also, remove subsidies from all sectors.”

The whole reason Musk is in his current position is because he used his vast wealth to help elect Trump, and new information emerged on Friday about how much Musk has spent to do just that, an analysis of recently released Federal Election Commission documents found the tech mogul had spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars— or roughly $277 million for his efforts to return Trump to the White House. The Washington Post noted that Musk likely spent more than that because “all of Musk’s donations this election cycle” may not be reflected in publicly available filings. “.

While most of Musk’s financial contributions have gone to America PAC, the political action committee he created, he has also donated heavily to lesser-known groups, including a little-known PAC designed to convince Americans that Trump doesn’t want to stop their abortion. rights. That PAC, dubbed “RBG” after Ruth Bader Ginsberg, received $20 million from Musk, the New York Times reported. reports.

Musk also said he plans to use much of the infrastructure built during the campaign to further his political agenda in D.C. He said he wants to keep America PAC activeduring as well as potential use plans use it to oust liberal district attorneys across the country. Musk is also apparently on board keep using X (formerly Twitter) to broadcast his and Trump’s agenda to the public.