David Marchese

Exactly. It doesn't do anything to say that the federal executive branch can decide to do that. In fact, it takes power away from them. So basically they're claiming a right and a power – not to enforce regulations that is nowhere in that court decision. And in fact, they probably have less power to ignore rules or reinterpret rules than they did before because that power is now in the courts.

Right. I do think that that court case will lead to a lot more deregulation, but it's going to happen slowly, one court case at a time as courts sort of roll back those rules. It's not going to happen all at once because the president decides he doesn't want to start enforcing rules he doesn't like.

Right. I do think that that court case will lead to a lot more deregulation, but it's going to happen slowly, one court case at a time as courts sort of roll back those rules. It's not going to happen all at once because the president decides he doesn't want to start enforcing rules he doesn't like.

That's right. They have lofty ambitions. They have a lot of confidence. And they have some very high-level ideas about what they want to cut. But this is not something that can be done with high-level ideas. This is going to take a lot of detailed, focused effort, a lot of political effort. And we haven't seen yet that those elements are present.

That's right. They have lofty ambitions. They have a lot of confidence. And they have some very high-level ideas about what they want to cut. But this is not something that can be done with high-level ideas. This is going to take a lot of detailed, focused effort, a lot of political effort. And we haven't seen yet that those elements are present.

Look, I think the most important thing to remember about all this is the finite quality of all this is going to be attention and energy. Both Musk's energy, Ramaswamy's energy, probably most importantly, Donald Trump's energy.

Look, I think the most important thing to remember about all this is the finite quality of all this is going to be attention and energy. Both Musk's energy, Ramaswamy's energy, probably most importantly, Donald Trump's energy.

Remember, when Trump takes office, he's promised to do all kinds of things that are going to be disruptive in Washington, they're going to produce controversy, and they're going to take energy, time, and effort to make work. He's talked about mass deportations, a deportation like we haven't seen in decades.

Remember, when Trump takes office, he's promised to do all kinds of things that are going to be disruptive in Washington, they're going to produce controversy, and they're going to take energy, time, and effort to make work. He's talked about mass deportations, a deportation like we haven't seen in decades.

He's talked about tariffs, huge tariffs on a lot of different countries and possibly trade deals. There's a lot of disruption he's promised. And in among all this, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are going to try to make a very disruptive change in the size of the federal government.

He's talked about tariffs, huge tariffs on a lot of different countries and possibly trade deals. There's a lot of disruption he's promised. And in among all this, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are going to try to make a very disruptive change in the size of the federal government.

The question for me is when the rubber hits the road on these cuts, when they recommend big cuts to different agencies or to things that congressmen want to fight for, is Trump going to have the energy and the inclination to to join that fight, to lend him some of his presidential energy and power? Or is he going to be focused on other things?

The question for me is when the rubber hits the road on these cuts, when they recommend big cuts to different agencies or to things that congressmen want to fight for, is Trump going to have the energy and the inclination to to join that fight, to lend him some of his presidential energy and power? Or is he going to be focused on other things?

This is a hugely important conversation. Just in the last few years, we've added $12 trillion to the national debt. We spend, as I said, more than 10% of the federal budget every year just paying off the debt for money we already borrowed. Whatever you think the size of the federal budget ought to be,

This is a hugely important conversation. Just in the last few years, we've added $12 trillion to the national debt. We spend, as I said, more than 10% of the federal budget every year just paying off the debt for money we already borrowed. Whatever you think the size of the federal budget ought to be,

I think the country would benefit from a real serious, significant conversation about what it spends money on and an effort to try to make that more efficient, to try to spend the least you can to get the services you want.

I think the country would benefit from a real serious, significant conversation about what it spends money on and an effort to try to make that more efficient, to try to spend the least you can to get the services you want.

I think the best case scenario is that Elon Musk really dives into one of these like really thorny, ugly, complicated federal government, you know, bureaucracies and finds a way to make it more efficient. Think about, you know, finding waste in Medicare where there's, you know, billions of dollars lost to waste. Think about auditing the Pentagon, although the Pentagon is one of his customers.

I think the best case scenario is that Elon Musk really dives into one of these like really thorny, ugly, complicated federal government, you know, bureaucracies and finds a way to make it more efficient. Think about, you know, finding waste in Medicare where there's, you know, billions of dollars lost to waste. Think about auditing the Pentagon, although the Pentagon is one of his customers.

But if there was a way to sort of shrink the wasted money and duplication at the Pentagon, you could really make a huge difference, not just in the budget, but at the functioning of the federal government. I think that's the best case scenario is that someone really digs into one of these supposedly unsolvable problems that make the government so big and inefficient.