Will Elon Musk be able to cut $2 trillion from US government spending?

After taking control of Congress in 2022, Republican lawmakers have struggled to pass legislation to deliver considerably smaller cuts of $130bn, external in discretionary government spending after meeting opposition from other Republicans.

It’s also important to note that Donald Trump campaigned on a platform of making Social Security more financially generous, not less, by removing the income tax payable, external on it. And, on defence, Trump said, external he would build an “iron dome missile defence shield” around America, implying greater spending in this area, not cuts.

Total US federal government spending as a share of the US economy in 2024 was around 23% according to the US Treasury, external.

That’s a considerably smaller share than national government spending in other developed countries.

However, a large share of government spending in the US, including almost all school spending, external, is done at a state rather than a federal level, and states are funded, external by local sales and property taxes.