'Shark Tank' star Kevin O’Leary is enthusiastically backing Elon Musk’s plan to cut $2 trillion from federal spending—and in fact, he thinks the cuts should be even higher.
If former president Donald Trump wins a second term, he has pledged to appoint Musk as head of a new Department of Government Efficiency that would enact major cuts to federal agencies. And during an interview with Fox News, the so-called “Mr. Wonderful” said Musk should “release the hounds” on government spending.
“The concept is, release the hounds. Let them in there and then come back with a shopping list of ideas, and let's debate it,” he said. “Why not? We need to find some savings.”
O’Leary said he views the federal government as “the biggest business in America,” and he said that Musk, with his background starting companies like Tesla and SpaceX, has the know-how to cut spending efficiently.
“Who has the executional skills and the track record to even look at this problem? Regardless of what elements are going to be cut—he doesn't have a plan yet—there's no other individual like Elon Musk,” he said.
Still, some experts have said $2 trillion in cuts, or about one-third of federal spending, would be difficult to achieve and, if enacted, would have drastic effects for the country and the economy, the Washington Post reported.
Cuts of the proportion Musk is proposing could have drastic effects on food, health care, and housing, as well as take a bite out of long-untouched programs such as social security and the military, the Post reported. Even Musk seemed to acknowledge in an X post Tuesday that a period of economic turmoil could result from his planned efficiency cuts.
O’Leary has previously thrown his support behind Trump’s policies and has said American businesses could benefit from a lower corporate tax rate and deregulation if the former president were to reclaim the White House.
Despite the possible ramifications of Musk’s plan to cut spending, O’Leary said the Tesla CEO has achieved what no other man on Earth has in building his successful companies and deserves no disrespect. While other entrepreneurs spend as much time on “noise” as they do their own projects, O’Leary said Musk is “100% signal,” meaning he is always focused on his objectives.
When it comes to finding savings in the federal budget, O’Leary argues Musk would apply the same focus—and maybe he should cut even more than the $2 trillion he proposed.
“We've got to go find $2 trillion, we’ve got to go find $5 trillion,” he said of Musk’s plan to gut government spending. “We've got to figure out how to solve this problem.”
