Source: Cato Institute
by Ryan Bourne & Nathan Miller
“Given the composition of the federal budget, and without a legislative strategy to work with Congress to cut entitlement programs and defense spending, it was simply impossible for DOGE to ever eke out $1–2 trillion of financial savings from cancelling DEI grants, laying off federal employees, shuttering minor departments and agencies, and delivering various software and anti-fraud upgrades to federal services. Indeed, making such wild promises on spending arguably undermined focus on what it did help achieve: a significant reduction in federal headcount, scrapping wasteful economic development aid, and zeroing near-term public broadcasting subsidies (since codified in the rescissions package). Would DOGE 2.0 heed the lesson not to overpromise again? It appears not.” (08/08/25)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/doge-overpromising-deregulation