Many Americans Don’t Trust Government, Elon Musk Says
As many as 22% of Americans trust the government to do what is right most or all of the time, according to the Pew Research Center. This lack of trust has been shared by Elon Musk, a billionaire business tycoon and recent appointee by President-elect Donald Trump to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an effort aimed at reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies and wasteful spending.
In a recent op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal, Musk and fellow DOGE co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy, who is a self-identified “small-government crusader,” declared that they will “cut costs” by serving as outside volunteers, not government officials or employees. Ramaswamy has also expressed a similar sentiment, stating that the people don’t trust the government because it doesn’t trust the people.
In order to achieve their goal of cutting government waste, Musk and Ramaswamy must gain the support of government figures. They met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill earlier this month to discuss their plan.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has expressed enthusiasm for the DOGE initiative, stating that under President Trump, the administration will “take a blowtorch to the administrative state and reduce the size and scope of government.”