DOGE eyes suggestions to slash federal DEI programs: report

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is eying a proposal that would slash federal diversity and inclusion programs, according to a new report.

DOGE is tasked with eliminating government spending, waste and streamlining efficiency and operations, and is expected to influence White House policy on budget matters. 

The proposal circulating among DOGE advisors is a 19-page report from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, a conservative and libertarian nonprofit organization, the Washington Post reports. 

Specifically, the document claims that there is more than $120 billion annually spent on “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives like Agriculture Department grants and loans for minority farmers and ranchers – efforts the organization claims are unconstitutional. 

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Although it’s unlikely that the entirety of those funds will face complete elimination, sources told the Post that these diversity efforts will likely face cuts to free up spending. DOGE advisors have viewed the document, and it is making its rounds through the committee, the Post reports. 

“That’s been sent down from on high, that all this DEI stuff has to go,” someone familiar with DOGE’s early plans told the Post. “Once all these guys get confirmed, and he’s the president on Jan. 20, this is going to happen fast and furious.”

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Musk is expected to occupy space in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building which is directly beside the West Wing and where the majority of office space for White House staffers exists, the New York Times reported this week. 

While Musk and transition officials have discussed the nature of the billionaire’s access to Trump post-inauguration, solidified plans are pending, according to the Times, which noted that special passes are usually required in order to freely visit the West Wing.

DOGE is not part of the federal government, but the committee is expected to suggest executive orders for the Trump administration and partner with the Office of Management and Budget on new initiatives.

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Altogether, DOGE seeks to slash $2 trillion from the federal government budget through cuts to spending, government programs and the federal workforce.

Even so, that plan may be a bit ambitious. Musk recently said that eliminating $2 trillion from the federal budget might not be realistic, and cutting $1 trillion was a more likely outcome. 

“I think we’ll try for $2 trillion. I think that’s like the best-case outcome,” Musk said during tech trade show CES this month in Las Vegas. “But I do think that you kind of have to have some overage. I think if we try for $2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting $1 [trillion].”