One Month In, And The Gov’t Is Already $257 Billion In The Red

"This is what a revolution looks like. Strap in." I&I Editorial Board

I & I Editorial Board   "On Tuesday, Donald Trump announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would head the “Department of Government Efficiency.” That same day, the Treasury Department released a report showing why this effort is so desperately needed.

In his announcement, Trump said that he’s assigned the two to “dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.” It will, he said, “become, potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time.”

"At Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally in late October, Musk, when asked how much he thought he could “rip out of this $6.5 trillion Harris-Biden budget,” said: “Well, I think we could do at least $2 trillion.”

"Washington insiders scoffed at the entire idea of a “government efficiency” department or that these two government outsiders could somehow find $2 trillion to cut.

"The truth is a Manhattan Project-level effort will be needed to restore a semblance of fiscal responsibility to the federal government.

"This week, the Treasury Department released its first report of the new fiscal year, which began in October.

"What it found was that in just the first month, the federal government ran a deficit of $257 billion. That compares with a deficit of $66 billion in October 2023.

"The massive jump is the result of a $76.6 billion drop in revenues compared with last year and a $114 billion hike in spending." . . .