Inside Elon Musk’s DOGE Team: The Billion-Dollar Battle to Fix Washington

The air was charged with anticipation as Bret Baier sat across from Elon Musk and his DOGE team—a collection of Silicon Valley titans and financial wizards now on a mission to overhaul the U.S. government’s finances. What began as a routine interview quickly turned into a rare, unscripted look at the most ambitious government reform effort in decades.

.

.

.

A Trillion-Dollar Target

Bret wasted no time, asking Musk about his audacious goal:
“What are the budgetary savings goals and how much have you achieved so far?”

Musk’s answer was bold and precise.
“Our goal is to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars. That means cutting federal spending from $7 trillion to $6 trillion—eliminating waste and fraud by 15%. We believe it’s achievable.”

The team’s confidence stemmed from their discoveries: government inefficiency wasn’t just a cliché—it was staggering.
“We routinely encounter waste of a billion dollars or more—casually,” Musk said, recalling a $1 billion contract for a simple online survey that could’ve cost $10,000 on SurveyMonkey.

Cutting Waste, Not Services

Musk emphasized that the cuts would not affect essential government services.
“We want to measure twice and cut once. If we make mistakes, we correct them quickly and move on.”

DOGE’s approach, he insisted, was methodical—not reckless, as critics claimed.

The Shocking State of Government Operations

Steve Davis, a former rocket scientist now COO of DOGE, explained why he joined:
“The goal is inspiring. Avoiding bankruptcy is something worth putting our lives on hold for.”

The team uncovered a surreal world of outdated processes. One member described a Pennsylvania mine housing 22,000 filing cabinets filled with government retirement paperwork—a system unchanged since the 1950s.
“It takes months to process retirements. We’re digitizing it so it’ll take only days.”

Fraud, Loopholes, and Outrageous Waste

DOGE’s engineers found government IT systems so old and fragmented that fraudsters exploited the gaps.
“There are over 15 million people over the age of 120 listed as alive in Social Security records,” one engineer revealed.
Billions in small business loans had been issued to children—one recipient was a nine-month-old baby.

Transparency and Accountability

DOGE began publishing suspicious payments on their website, making government spending more transparent than ever before.
“Anyone can log on and see where the money is going,” Davis said.

Still, the pushback was fierce. Lawsuits, political attacks, and accusations of aiming to gut Social Security and Medicare came from all sides.
Musk was adamant:
“Legitimate recipients will receive more, not less. We’re protecting benefits, not cutting them.”

The Private Sector Meets Washington

DOGE’s Silicon Valley mindset clashed with decades of government inertia. They found 4.6 million federal credit cards for 2.3 million employees, and 1,400 IRS staff whose sole job was issuing laptops and phones.
“If a public company operated like this, it would go bankrupt instantly. Officers would be arrested,” Musk said.

Patriotism and Sacrifice

Why do it? For many, it was about duty.
“If we don’t fix this, America will go bankrupt. Our children will inherit crushing debt,” one team member said.

A Battle Against Corruption and Propaganda

As the DOGE team rooted out fraud, they faced not only bureaucratic resistance but also real-world dangers.
“Tesla stores have been firebombed, employees threatened. It’s propaganda fueling this—lies that endanger lives,” Musk said.

A Revolution in Government

Despite the obstacles, Musk and his team remain undaunted.
“This is the biggest revolution in government since the original Revolution,” said one executive.
“If we don’t do it, the ship of America will sink. That’s why we’re here.”

In the end, the DOGE team’s mission is as much about restoring faith in government as it is about saving money. Their message is clear: with transparency, technology, and relentless pursuit of the truth, America can—and must—change.