David Marchese

It's going to be so easy. It's going to be so easy to do.

There was actually another element of this. Vivek Ramaswamy posted a picture on Instagram over Thanksgiving with like one of his kids napping in his lap and he's reading a report on how to cut the federal budget. So, you know, the vibe from them has been this is going to be fun. This is going to be easy. It's going to be bigger than you think.

There was actually another element of this. Vivek Ramaswamy posted a picture on Instagram over Thanksgiving with like one of his kids napping in his lap and he's reading a report on how to cut the federal budget. So, you know, the vibe from them has been this is going to be fun. This is going to be easy. It's going to be bigger than you think.

You know, just we can't wait to get started and we're going to make such huge progress. But we have seen lots of administrations try this. Honestly, the history of just this one idea about how to cut the budget, which is you get some very successful businessmen from outside the government, bring them in and help them with their fresh eyes. They'll see how to run government like a business.

You know, just we can't wait to get started and we're going to make such huge progress. But we have seen lots of administrations try this. Honestly, the history of just this one idea about how to cut the budget, which is you get some very successful businessmen from outside the government, bring them in and help them with their fresh eyes. They'll see how to run government like a business.

The first person to do that was Theodore Roosevelt. Ronald Reagan made a big effort led by this industrialist named Peter Grace. He had this huge commission that produced like 2,500 separate recommendations to cut the budget. More recently, we had Al Gore trying to reinvent government in the 90s.

The first person to do that was Theodore Roosevelt. Ronald Reagan made a big effort led by this industrialist named Peter Grace. He had this huge commission that produced like 2,500 separate recommendations to cut the budget. More recently, we had Al Gore trying to reinvent government in the 90s.

And then, you know, I was covering Congress in 2010, 11, 12, when the Tea Party wave of Republicans came in. They were all about cutting the budget, getting the government down to the right size. It's been tried again and again and again in the last 100 plus years. And often it doesn't happen. Now, there are reasons to think this time might be different.

And then, you know, I was covering Congress in 2010, 11, 12, when the Tea Party wave of Republicans came in. They were all about cutting the budget, getting the government down to the right size. It's been tried again and again and again in the last 100 plus years. And often it doesn't happen. Now, there are reasons to think this time might be different.

There's never been anybody like Elon Musk at the head of one of these commissions. Nobody as rich or powerful. Nobody as close to the president. So those are all reasons to think that Doge is going to have more luck than these other previous efforts. That said, it's pretty clear that Doge is about to run into some pretty big hurdles of its own.

There's never been anybody like Elon Musk at the head of one of these commissions. Nobody as rich or powerful. Nobody as close to the president. So those are all reasons to think that Doge is going to have more luck than these other previous efforts. That said, it's pretty clear that Doge is about to run into some pretty big hurdles of its own.

Well, I think the best way to start, Elon Musk, because he wants to cut two trillion dollars out of the six point something trillion federal budget. So about a third of the federal budget. If you zoom out, think about what are the biggest chunks of the federal budget? Where does that money go?

Well, I think the best way to start, Elon Musk, because he wants to cut two trillion dollars out of the six point something trillion federal budget. So about a third of the federal budget. If you zoom out, think about what are the biggest chunks of the federal budget? Where does that money go?

And the first is about a third of the budget goes to two programs, Medicare and Social Security, two programs that provide income security and health care for older Americans. Now, those are things that Republicans have targeted a lot in the past. Remember the Paul Ryan years? A lot of people wanted to cut Medicare and Social Security. Right.

And the first is about a third of the budget goes to two programs, Medicare and Social Security, two programs that provide income security and health care for older Americans. Now, those are things that Republicans have targeted a lot in the past. Remember the Paul Ryan years? A lot of people wanted to cut Medicare and Social Security. Right.

Trump's innovation, the thing that he did that no other Republican did was he said, no, we'll never cut those things. In fact, it says it in the Republican Party platform this year. Medicare and Social Security will not be touched. So you're putting those two giant programs off the table. They're not going to be touched.

Trump's innovation, the thing that he did that no other Republican did was he said, no, we'll never cut those things. In fact, it says it in the Republican Party platform this year. Medicare and Social Security will not be touched. So you're putting those two giant programs off the table. They're not going to be touched.

That's right. And beyond that, if we put Medicare and Social Security off to the side, we're not going to touch those. Another big chunk, about 13 percent of the budget goes to national defense. And that's, you know, all the armed forces, all the contracts to people who supply things for the armed forces, you know, which, by the way, includes Elon Musk's SpaceX.

That's right. And beyond that, if we put Medicare and Social Security off to the side, we're not going to touch those. Another big chunk, about 13 percent of the budget goes to national defense. And that's, you know, all the armed forces, all the contracts to people who supply things for the armed forces, you know, which, by the way, includes Elon Musk's SpaceX.

They have contracts to shoot satellites up in the air for the Air Force. Right. So it's really unlikely that Trump is going to make major cuts in that area. And if you Look at his governing record from his first administration. The military budget went way up and Trump tried to make it go higher even than it did. So he's somebody who has said a lot. He wants the military to be strong.