US: Musk leaves DOGE, a mixed record for federal austerity policy

It’s the end of an unprecedented political episode: Elon Musk is stepping down as head of DOGE, the commission in charge of “government efficiency” in the United States.

Appointed by Donald Trump, Musk was to embody a radical breakthrough in the management of public finances. Announced objective: 1,000 billion dollars in savings, and a massive reduction in the civil service.

The result? 160 billion were saved, according to the DOGE. But several media outlets are questioning the reliability of these figures. At the same time, 100,000 jobs for civil servants were targeted. Some of the cuts even affected sensitive services such as USAID or the teams in charge of nuclear safety – some of which had to be cancelled.

Musk had also committed himself to a technological modernization of the administration, notably through the centralization of tax and social data. A move that could leave lasting structural traces.

But behind this departure, there is also a political rift. Conflicts with several members of the Trump administration, tensions over US trade strategy… Musk, weakened by the $100 billion-plus drop in his personal fortune – linked to Tesla’s decline – has chosen to return to his industrial priorities.

His withdrawal from the DOGE illustrates above all the limits of an entrepreneurial approach applied to public management, between hard-hitting slogans and bureaucratic realities.

source: Le Monde