'For Bureaucracy': Elon Musk Waves Javier Milei’s Chainsaw As DOGE Pushes For Govt Spending Cuts

Last Updated:February 21, 2025, 10:02 IST

President Donald Trump created DOGE after taking office last month, to reduce federal spending by nearly USD 2 trillion.

Elon Musk with a chainsaw, gifted by Argentina's Javier Milei | Image/X

Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who appeared at a conservative gathering outside Washington on Thursday, was spotted waving a chainsaw in the air, gifted by Argentine President Javier Milei, symbolising openness to slash US government expenditure under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that he heads in the Donald Trump administration.

Notably, DOGE has been aggressively reducing federal workforce and funding, with Trump granting it the authority to limit public spending in order to save $2 trillion.

The Tesla CEO attended the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where he was handed the chainsaw by Argentina’s Milei, who made the chainsaw a symbol of cutting public spending during his presidential campaign.

A video of Musk waving the chainsaw at the conservative event, with loud cheers from the crowd, surfaced on social media, where he was heard saying, “Chainsaw for bureaucracy."

Interestingly, DOGE tracks every dollar it has saved on its website. As of February 19, the department claims to have saved USD 55 billion, with a single contract worth $8 billion.

President Donald Trump created DOGE after taking office last month, to reduce federal spending by nearly USD 2 trillion.

The agency, a brainchild of Elon Musk, was established through an executive order and functions as an advisory body, with at least four employees assigned to each federal agency.

However, DOGE is not an official government department, as it would have required congressional approval to attain that status.

United States of America (USA)

News world 'For Bureaucracy': Elon Musk Waves Javier Milei’s Chainsaw As DOGE Pushes For Govt Spending Cuts