Elon Musk’s DOGE in 2025: A Cost-Cutting Revolution or a Controversial Overreach?

What Is DOGE and Why Is It Making Headlines?

In May 2025, Elon Musk, the billionaire behind Tesla and SpaceX, is at the center of a heated debate over his role in the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Despite its official-sounding name, DOGE isn’t a real government department—it’s an advisory group created by U.S. President Donald Trump in January 2025 to slash federal spending and make the government run more smoothly. Think of it as a team hired to clean up a messy house, but instead of dusting shelves, they’re cutting budgets and jobs. On May 20, 2025, Musk sat down with CNBC anchor David Faber for a tense interview on Power Lunch, where he faced tough questions about DOGE’s progress and the backlash it’s caused. Let’s break down what DOGE is, what it’s done, and why it’s sparking so much controversy, all in simple terms for anyone new to this story.

The Big Promise: Cutting Billions from the Government Budget

When Trump brought Musk on board to lead DOGE, the goal was ambitious: save taxpayers money by getting rid of waste in the U.S. government’s massive $6.5 trillion annual budget. Musk started out with a bold claim—he wanted to cut $2 trillion, which is like taking a giant pair of scissors to nearly a third of the government’s spending. But by May 2025, that target had shrunk to $150 billion by the end of the 2025/2026 financial year. During his CNBC interview, Musk said DOGE had already saved $160 billion since January, a number he’s proud of, calling it “16 percent of the way” toward a trillion in just five months.

But not everyone’s convinced. Faber pointed out that some estimates—like one from Musk’s own AI chatbot, Grok—say DOGE has only saved between $5 billion and $32 billion. Why the huge gap? Musk explained that the $160 billion figure is based on the difference in spending between fiscal year 2025 and 2026, factoring in things like severance pay for federal workers who took early retirement deals. For example, many government employees were offered buyouts to leave their jobs, but those payments lasted until September 2025, so the real savings won’t show up until October. It’s like paying off a credit card bill now to save money later—it takes time to see the results.

What Has DOGE Actually Done in 2025?

So, what has DOGE been up to since January? The group has been busy, but its actions have stirred up a lot of debate. DOGE has focused on cutting programs, contracts, and jobs across federal agencies. They’ve shut down entire agencies, like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which used to provide humanitarian aid worldwide, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which protected people from shady financial companies. Musk told Faber that any USAID programs with “merit” were moved to the State Department, but many critics disagree, saying these cuts hurt vulnerable people both in the U.S. and abroad.

DOGE has also pushed for mass layoffs, with over 2 million federal workers offered buyouts to leave their jobs. Some agencies, like the Department of Education, have seen big cuts to research programs, and others, like the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have lost funding for medical research. Musk has also targeted what he calls “woke” policies, claiming DOGE saved $1 billion by canceling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) contracts across 30 agencies. For example, the Department of Defense even removed a webpage about Jackie Robinson, the baseball legend who broke racial barriers, because it was considered DEI-related.

Another controversial move? DOGE has accessed sensitive government data systems, like those at the Treasury Department and the Social Security Administration, to look for fraud. Musk has claimed there’s “extreme fraud” in Social Security, like payments going to dead people or those over 100 years old, but he hasn’t provided solid proof, and some judges have called out the Trump administration for making claims without evidence.

Why Are People So Upset About DOGE?

DOGE’s actions haven’t gone unnoticed, and they’ve sparked a lot of anger. During the CNBC interview, Faber asked Musk if his work with DOGE was worth it, pointing out that Musk has become a divisive figure. Some Americans love him for trying to save taxpayer money—polls from February 2025 by CBS News showed that most Republican voters support DOGE’s cost-cutting. But others are furious. They argue that DOGE’s cuts have gone too far, hurting important programs like foreign aid, consumer protections, and medical research.

There’s also been backlash over how DOGE operates. Critics say Musk, who’s not an elected official, has too much power. DOGE has tried to access congressional agencies like the Government Publishing Office (GPO), which prints official documents, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a watchdog that fights government waste. These agencies said no, with lawmakers like Rep. Joe Morelle telling DOGE to “get lost.” The White House even tried to replace leaders at the Library of Congress with Trump loyalists, raising fears that DOGE is overstepping its role and threatening the balance of power between the government’s branches.

On top of that, Musk’s businesses—like Tesla and SpaceX—have government contracts worth billions, and some worry he’s using DOGE to benefit his companies. A Senate report from April 2025 claimed DOGE’s cuts could help Musk’s companies avoid $2 billion in legal liabilities, like fines for misleading claims about Tesla’s self-driving tech. Musk and Trump deny any conflicts of interest, but the criticism has taken a toll—Musk’s popularity has dropped, and Tesla’s stock has plummeted in 2025 amid the backlash.

Musk’s Response: “We’re Advisers, Not Kings”

In the CNBC interview, Musk got defensive when Faber pressed him on DOGE’s impact. “We are advisers. We’re not kings here,” Musk said, pushing back against the idea that he has unchecked power. He argued that DOGE needs approval from the executive, legislative, and judicial branches to make big changes, like raising the retirement age to save more money—a suggestion Faber brought up as a more effective way to cut spending. Musk insisted DOGE is tackling every part of the budget, even the “boring” ones, and that their $160 billion in savings is a big step forward.

But the tension didn’t stop there. When Faber kept questioning the savings numbers, Musk snapped, “So why are you attacking this? Given that we’ve made so much progress?” Faber clarified he was just asking questions, not attacking, but the exchange? showed how sensitive Musk is to criticism about DOGE. Later, during CNBC’s Closing Bell, Musk returned to talk about Tesla’s future, like its self-driving robotaxis, signaling he’s ready to focus more on his businesses as his time with DOGE winds down.