trillion

Musk, in particular, has talked about finding $2 trillion in cuts.

His recurring suggestion to cut government spending by a nearly a third, or $2 trillion, is outdone only by Ramaswamy's own proposal to cut as much as 75% of the federal workforce.

For one, it's unclear how Musk will chart a $2 trillion cut when two-thirds of the $6.7 trillion federal budget goes to mandatory spending through programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid while discretionary spending is largely used for military and defense programs that neither Democrats nor Republicans have much appetite for downsizing.

Musk, who has vowed to cut at least $2 trillion in federal spending, could pressure regulators looking into his companies.

At a late-October rally for Trump in New York, Musk pledged he would find “at least $2 trillion in cuts” from the federal government.