Boris Johnson Endorses Elon Musk’s $2 Trillion Spending Cut Plan

Key Takeaways

• Under a Trump Administration, Elon Musk could be appointed to lead efforts to curb federal spending.
• Musk recently said government spending could be cut by $2 trillion.
• Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has endorsed the proposal.

Under a Trump Administration, Elon Musk could be appointed to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency. He has committed to cutting federal spending by $2 trillion—nearly a third of the entire government budget.

After he made the comments at a Trump rally in October, government spending hawks have rallied around Musk’s idea, including former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Boris Johnson: ‘The State Has Got Too Big’ 

In a recent interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Johnson said Musk’s idea “needs to be looked at seriously.”

He argued that government spending had ballooned out of control in the U.K. and that “perhaps in the U.S. as well, the state has got too big.”

Johnson isn’t the first figure to support Musk’s plan. Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary enthusiastically endorsed the proposal, suggesting that even more savings of up to $5 trillion could be on the cards.

Musk the “Cost-Cutter”

During an interview with Fox News in October, Trump lauded Musk’s ability to reduce spending, stating: “He feels there’s such waste, fraud and abuse in our budgets. And he’s right. And he’s a great cost-cutter. He’ll cut costs without anybody even knowing it.”

Previously, Trump has praised Musk as being the “greatest cutter” for his no-nonsense approach to Tesla layoffs.

However, running a company and governing a country are two wholly different challenges.

Obstacles to Spending Cuts

While many on the right might agree with the rhetoric behind Musk’s ambitious plan, critics have pointed out that there is little political appetite to make the kind of tough decisions it would entail.

Previous Republican-led efforts to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid faced strong opposition in Congress, which ultimately decides the U.S. federal budget. 

Moreover, evidence from his last term suggests Trump is more of an economic pragmatist than a small-state zealot. For instance, despite promising to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act in 2016, Trump left office with the expanded Medicaid program largely unchanged after four years.