• The White House DOGE office is continuing to crack down on federal employees.
• On Saturday, federal workers got an email asking them to list what they accomplished last week.
• Some federal workers told BI they weren't sure how to respond, given work stoppage orders.

The White House DOGE office had an email sent to federal employees on Saturday asking them to list what work they accomplished in the last week.

The subject of the email, which was seen by Business Insider, read, "What did you do last week?"

"Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager," the message sent from the OPM's HR email address reads. "Please do not send any classified information, links, or attachments. Deadline is the Monday at 11:59pmEST."

The emails followed President Donald Trump's instruction to Elon Musk to "get more aggressive" in reducing the size of the federal bureaucracy. Musk had teased that the emails would be forthcoming in a subsequent post on X, writing: "Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation," but the email received by employees did not detail any potential consequences for failing to reply by the deadline.

One Department of Education employee whose work has been affected by executive orders and layoffs told Business Insider that they planned to check in with their supervisor before responding to the email and were uncertain how to reply.

"Everything I normally do is on hold because they are reviewing it so I'm at a total work stoppage," the Department of Education employee said. "I could go into everything I normally do that they are currently holding up. Another approach would be not to respond."

Are you a federal employee who received this email from the DOGE office? Tell the reporters of this article how you plan to respond by using a non-work device to email [email protected] and [email protected].

The email also confounded and frustrated other federal employees who spoke to Business Insider.

"No idea how to respond being as this is from outside our chain of command," one federal worker told BI. "This is pure harassment."

Another federal employee — from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — said they "can only imagine how many people they'll fire based on the responses/non-responses to this."

"I'm not running cover for this horseshit," one employee of the Federal Communications Commission told BI.

In just a matter of weeks, Trump and the White House DOGE office have gone full steam ahead to reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy.

About 77,000 federal workers accepted the buyouts Trump offered shortly after he took office for his second term. The administration has laid off scores of workers at the US Agency for International Development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and other key agencies. Several top-level officials who initially pushed back against Musk's efforts have now resigned or retired.

DOGE on Thursday said it had so far saved $55 billion in taxpayer dollars, largely through canceled contracts.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• President Donald Trump said on Saturday he'd like to see Elon Musk "get more aggressive."
• Musk is the face of DOGE, which has upended Washington with its budget cuts and layoffs.
• Musk responded to Trump's comment a few hours later. Then, federal workers started receiving emails.

As far as President Donald Trump is concerned, Elon Musk's DOGE isn't cutting enough.

On Saturday, Trump praised Musk's efforts to streamline government operations and reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy and then called on his ally to do even more.

"Elon is doing a great job, but I would like to see him get more aggressive," Trump wrote in all caps on his social media platform, Truth Social.

A few hours later, Musk responded on his social media platform, X.

"Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump's instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation."

The emails began arriving in the inboxes of federal workers on Saturday, with the Trump administration again upending traditional norms across the federal government.

It's a strategy that mirrors Musk's actions after he bought Twitter — now known as X — in 2022.

That year, Musk texted the line, "What did you get done this week?" to then-Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal after the two men disagreed over Musk's public criticism of the social media company. Musk later fired Agrawal.

After acquiring the social media company, Musk asked engineers to print out their most recent software code for review to assess their skills.

During a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, Trump called Musk a "patriot" for his government work.

In just over a month in office, Trump and the White House DOGE office have pushed through buyout offers and laid off swaths of staffers at the US Agency for International Development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and elsewhere.

DOGE on Thursday said it had already saved taxpayers $55 billion, mostly through canceled contracts, though it has made some mistakes in its accounting, like reporting a contract was worth billions when it was actually worth millions.

Musk says his ultimate goal is to cut at least $1 trillion — or a "best-case outcome" of $2 trillion — from the federal budget.

"Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary, a vocal supporter of Trump's economic policies, also said during a CNN interview on Thursday that Musk should go even further in his efforts.

"I don't think he's cutting enough," O'Leary said. "When you find a broken company, whatever you think you should cut, you add 20 percent more to it. Then you see how the organization adjusts, and you can always hire back."

"There's always going to be an opportunity to criticize some cut that was too deep or the wrong person got cut," he continued. "But my point is, as long as you keep the mandate in place, keep cutting, keep hacking, keep slashing. This is good for government."

Musk's move-fast and break-things effort to disrupt and reinvent the federal government is having a significant real-world impact across the country.

In addition to the thousands who have left their jobs and are now unemployed, many farmers and organizations that rely on federal funding are seeking clarification on whether invoices for completed work will be paid.

Legal challenges to Trump's slew of executive actions have added to the uncertainty federal workers now face.

• The Department of Government Efficiency aiming to make sweeping changes to the federal workforce.
• Several top government officials have left their roles after pushing back against DOGE.
• The task force's work to reshape Washington is causing major disruptions.

The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was envisioned by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk as a way to streamline government operations and reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy.

As the hard-charging task force has made its imprint on the government, several high-profile officials have either stepped down from their roles or have been dismissed from their positions.

Here's a look at some of the major departures that have come as a result of DOGE's work.

Michelle King, Social Security Administration head

King, the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, stepped down from her post at the agency on Sunday following a dispute with the Department of Government Efficiency, people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.

After serving more than 30 years at the SSA — which manages programs related to retirement, survivors, and disability benefits for millions of Americans — King became its acting commissioner last month, according to her LinkedIn.

Nancy Altman, the president of political advocacy group Social Security Works, told NBC News that several SSA officials informed her of King's departure. Altman told the outlet that King had refused to provide sensitive data including bank information, Social Security numbers, and medical records to the DOGE team.

In a statement shared with Business Insider, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said that the agency will be led by "a career Social Security anti-fraud expert" until Trump's pick to lead the SSA, Frank Bisignano, is confirmed.

"President Trump is committed to appointing the best and most qualified individuals who are dedicated to working on behalf of the American people, not to appease the bureaucracy that has failed them for far too long," Fields said in the statement.

The SSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, nor did King.

Jim Jones, head of the FDA's food division

Jones, the head of the US Food and Drug Administration's food division quit his role on Monday, according to a resignation letter obtained by Bloomberg.

Jones said in the letter that he was leaving his post because the cuts DOGE has made to the FDA will make it too difficult to do his job. Combined with the Trump administration's "disdain for the very people" needed to implement the changes it wants to see, Jones wrote that it would be "fruitless" for him to continue in his role.

In an interview with Stat News, Jones cited his frustration that nine staffers were terminated from a 29-person group that was researching chemical additives in food — a key area of concern for Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"It goes to this indiscriminate nature of it," Jones told the outlet. "There's nothing strategic about it, nothing thoughtful about it. That'll be the hardest place to shore up. And just listening to Secretary Kennedy, that's one of his highest priorities, if not his highest priority."

When asked to confirm Jones' departure, the White House shared a statement from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying "there are a number of bureaucrats who are resistant to the democratic process and mandate delivered by the American people."

"President Trump is only interested in the best and most qualified people who are also willing to implement his America First agenda on behalf of the American people," Leavitt continued in the statement. "It's not for everyone and that's okay."

The FDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

David Lebryk, top US Treasury official

Lebryk for years was the top civil servant at the Treasury Department and he briefly served as acting Treasury secretary. In those roles, he oversaw over a billion payments made by the government annually before he announced his retirement in late January.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave approval for DOGE to access the system, which had generally been operated by career civil service employees.

Lebryk was put on administrative leave after pushing back against DOGE's attempts to access the expansive federal payment system, according to The Washington Post.

Lebryk joined the Treasury Department in 1989 as a presidential management intern and served as the fiscal assistant treasury secretary from 2014 until January 2025. From the start of Trump's second term until Bessent was confirmed as Treasury secretary days later, Lebryk served as the acting Treasury secretary.

Business Insider reached out to the Treasury Department and a spokesperson for DOGE for comment.

Paul Martin, USAID inspector general

Martin, the inspector general at the US Agency for International Development, was fired in February after his office issued a report describing what they saw as the downfalls of the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the agency.

The dismissal of Martin — who had served as USAID's inspector general since 2023 — came in the form of an email from the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, per NBC News.

"On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as Inspector General of the United States Agency for International Development is terminated, effective immediately," deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel Trent Morse wrote in the email. "Thank you for your service."

Business Insider has reached out to the USAID Inspector General's office for comment.

Steven Reilly, lead engineer for Notify.gov

Reilly, who served as the engineering lead for the General Services Administration's Notify.gov text messaging platform, stepped down from his role in the Technology Transformation Services branch after its new leader tried to obtain access to all parts of Notify.gov, according to The Washington Post.

The new director of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services, Thomas Shedd, is a former Tesla engineer.

Shedd tried to obtain administrative access to over 20 government systems, and in a departing letter, Reilly said he had not "received a justification" for Shedd's request, according to The Post.

"While we have suggested alternatives, such as read-only access, Thomas has continued to request full admin/root access," Reilly said in the letter.

GSA acting press secretary Will Powell told Business Insider in a statement that Shedd "has not been given access to the Notify.gov system at this time."

"Access ensures a detailed understanding of how the systems work so areas for optimization and efficiencies can be quickly identified," Powell said. "Mr. Shedd is working with all appropriate GSA officials to ensure all established GSA protocols and policies are followed before he is granted access to a TTS system."

• Ruben Gallego said the 2024 election proved Trump and Musk's understanding of working-class voters.
• "They actually understand the consumer," the senator told The New York Times.
• Gallego won his Senate seat on the same ballot where Trump flipped Arizona back into the GOP column.

President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have found a way to connect with working-class voters because they are "engaged every day" with them, Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona said in a recent New York Times interview.

"They actually understand the consumer," Gallego said. "They are engaged every day, one way or the other, in trying to talk to the consumer, and in this case it's the voter."

Gallego said the 2024 general election results "proved" the strength of Trump's appeal with the working-class voters Democrats have also sought to win over.

When Gallego was asked why many voters concerned about the economy seemingly had little issue with an administration filled with the ultrawealthy, the Arizona lawmaker said personal wealth is aspirational for many voters.

"People that are working class, poor, don't necessarily look at the ultrarich as their competitors," he said. "They want to be rich someday."

He said those voters would give Trump, Musk, and their allies the benefit of the doubt until they were personally impacted by governmental actions.

Gallego also predicted that Trump would face political backlash over the GOP's long-sought tax bill, which could include $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and potential spending reductions for programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

"That's when you're going to see people saying, 'No, no, no, that's not what I want,'" he said.

Gallego has only been in the Senate for a few weeks, but he's no stranger to Washington. He served in the House for a decade, representing a Democratic-heavy district anchored in Phoenix.

When Gallego jumped into his state's Senate race, it was unclear whether then-Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema would also run. This had the potential to create a three-way race, which could have made it easier for the GOP to win the seat. However, Sinema eventually declined a reelection bid, and Gallego faced Republican Kari Lake, a staunch Trump political ally.

Gallego defeated Lake last November even as Trump flipped Arizona red in his victory over then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the key swing state.

The first Latino to represent Arizona in the Senate, Gallego outpaced Harris with Latino voters and male voters. The lawmaker attributed his success to his work to engage with voters everywhere, especially as it related to their economic concerns.

• DOGE is one of the most ambitious efforts to reform the federal government in decades.
• Elon Musk is working closely with President Trump to slash spending across the government.
• The Department of Government Efficiency faces multiple lawsuits seeking to block its work.

The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was created by an executive order by President Donald Trump and is one of the most ambitious efforts to slash spending at the federal level in decades.

Headed by Elon Musk, the world's richest man, DOGE's mission is to make government leaner and more effective. As a temporary organization, DOGE is set to complete its work on July 4, 2026.

In January 2025, Musk said he'd cut at least $1 trillion from the federal budget, telling the political strategist Mark Penn that up to $2 trillion in spending cuts was the "best-case outcome" for DOGE.

Almost immediately, DOGE attracted lawsuits from an array of Democrats and union groups concerned over Musk's team gaining access to sensitive information within several federal agencies.

Here's a look at how DOGE is aiming to upend US government in Washington.

Where did the idea of DOGE come from?

For decades, Republicans have railed against what they've decried as excessive government spending that they feel has only been encouraged by layers of bureaucracy in the nation's capital.

In his three presidential runs, Trump made tackling the federal deficit and cutting the size of government important themes of his campaign. However, the issue took on added resonance in 2024 as many Americans remained weary of inflation and federal spending.

In July 2024, Musk suggested on X that Trump could establish a presidential commission on "government efficiency" and select him to lead it. Trump liked the idea and confirmed in August 2024 that he was considering Musk for an advisory role.

Musk then took to X, where he said "I am willing to serve," with an image of him standing in front of a "Department of Government Efficiency" lectern.

In the final weeks of the campaign, Musk was a fixture on the trail, particularly in swing-state Pennsylvania, where he stumped hard for Trump.

After Trump defeated then-Vice President Kamala Harris in November 2024, he announced that DOGE would be co-led by Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. Musk initially said DOGE jobs would have "zero" compensation, however, in January 2025 it was announced that DOGE would be hiring some salaried employees.

The Department of Government Efficiency has the acronym of one of Musk's favorite memes, which features the image of a Shiba Inu dog and also inspired the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.

What has DOGE accomplished so far?

As Trump was enjoying his inaugural festivities, reports emerged that Ramaswamy would be leaving DOGE to launch a gubernatorial bid in Ohio, making Musk the face of the conservative president's task force.

From the start, DOGE sought to analyze federal contracts and spending at agencies across the government, and Musk called out expenditures on issues like foreign aid and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

However, the quick pace of DOGE's work to remold government in the vision of Trump and Musk left many in Washington — and across the country and world — stunned.

During a joint appearance in the Oval Office in February 2025, Trump and Musk announced that DOGE had uncovered "billions and billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse" in its first few weeks. Trump said a final number could potentially reach "close to a trillion dollars," but neither he nor Musk gave many specifics regarding the figures. Trump also signed an executive order that directs agency heads to work with DOGE to identify "large-scale reductions in force."

DOGE also sought to prune the government workforce, offering buyouts to federal employees, who were given a deadline to accept an offer to be paid through September 2025.

One of the biggest targets for both Trump and Musk so far has been the US Agency for International Development, or USAID, which distributes foreign aid. Trump wants to shut down the independent government agency, which provides funding on everything from HIV/AIDS treatment to investments in water and sanitation access.

The push is part of Musk's desire to "delete" agencies that he feels are wasteful or have outlived their usefulness.

Another target is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which Republicans have criticized since its creation under President Barack Obama in 2011. DOGE also cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the Department of Education's research office, with the task force announcing that they'd "terminated" contracts.

How will Congress work with DOGE?

Republicans, who retained control of the House and retook the Senate in the 2024 elections, are overwhelmingly supportive of both Trump and DOGE.

The GOP-led House Oversight Committee in November 2024 announced the formation of the Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) subcommittee, which is chaired by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, with Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico serving as the ranking member.

Both parties have expressed a desire to eliminate wasteful spending and boost transparency. However, Stansbury said Democrats would seek accountability for DOGE.

"We will not sit silently by and watch the Administration recklessly and lawlessly dismantle our federal agencies, fire and harass federal employees, withhold federal funds, and hack our private and sensitive data," she said in a statement.

Then there's the GOP-led House DOGE caucus, which is co-chaired by Reps. Aaron Bean of Florida, Blake Moore of Utah, and Pete Sessions of Texas. There are some Democrats who are currently a part of the caucus, namely Reps. Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Steven Horsford of Nevada. Democratic Rep. Val Hoyle of Oregon left the caucus in February 2025 after accusing Musk of trying to "line his own pockets and rip off Americans."

The Senate DOGE caucus is led by Republican Joni Ernst of Iowa.

Republicans are overwhelmingly in alignment with Trump's agenda, and with the threat of potential Musk-funded primary challengers in 2026, GOP lawmakers will likely be eager to support the DOGE task force's work.

Still, Congress controls federal spending. And DOGE's efforts to dramatically reshape additional agencies may potentially encounter bipartisan resistance.

What criticism has DOGE faced?

Even during its conception, questions arose regarding whether DOGE could truly make a dent in federal spending.

With a bulk of federal spending going toward Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the defense budget, it is unclear how deeply DOGE will be able to make its desired cuts. (Trump has repeatedly pledged not to touch Medicare and Social Security.)

DOGE was also granted access to a Treasury Department payment system that contains sensitive information about millions of Americans, ramping up concerns about privacy.

There has also been some scrutiny regarding staffing hires. DOGE has drawn criticism for the young ages of its staff members — some are in their early 20s or even as young as 19.

Business Insider obtained a DOGE staff list with the records of roughly 30 individuals who are now employed by the White House's DOGE office, with backgrounds in industries like tech, finance, and law. Some have worked at Musk's companies like SpaceX or The Boring Company, and others have worked as software engineers, venture capitalists, or even law clerks for Supreme Court justices.

Marko Elez — a 25-year-old who previously worked at SpaceX and X and was a member of Musk's team — in February 2025 resigned from the Treasury Department after The Wall Street Journal brought to light racist social media posts. Vice President JD Vance called for Elez to be rehired, and Musk said he'd rehire Elez after a poll on X found 78% of participants in favor of the move.

Lawsuits against DOGE

An array of lawsuits have been filed by critics challenging DOGE's actions.

In February 2025, 19 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Trump and the Treasury Department alleging a violation of federal law in granting DOGE staffers access to the personal financial data of Americans.

Another lawsuit was filed against the Trump administration by several nongovernmental organizations that obtain US foreign aid over DOGE's attempts to shutter USAID. The plaintiffs argue that the administration "violated the separation of powers."

And the National Treasury Employees Union filed two lawsuits over the stoppage of the CFPB's work and the ability of Musk and DOGE aides to see the personal information of the agency's staffers.

The White House has denounced the lawsuits, with deputy press secretary Harrison Fields likening the plaintiffs to "children throwing pasta at the wall to see if it will stick."

"Grandstanding government efficiency speaks volumes about those who'd rather delay much-needed change with legal shenanigans than work with the Trump Administration of ridding the government of waste, fraud, and abuse," Fields said.

Business Insider has reached out to a DOGE spokesperson for comment.

• House Republicans unveiled a budget draft that potentially cuts critical Medicaid funding.
• The Budget Committee draft instructs the Energy and Commerce Committee to cut at least $880 billion.
• House and Senate GOP leaders aren't on the same page when it comes to advancing Trump's agenda.

Medicaid may be on the chopping block as the Trump administration prepares its budget blueprint.

The House Budget Committee's budget draft included a goal of about $2 trillion in spending cuts and allowed for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts.

The blueprint draft called for at least $880 billion in spending cuts from the House Energy and Commerce Committee over the next decade. This would likely mean large Medicaid cuts, potentially leading many Americans to lose their benefits. A Ways and Means Committee document outlining reconciliation options reveals over $2 trillion in potential Medicaid cuts, though some could overlap.

President Donald Trump has said Social Security and Medicare, which are the largest federal government programs, wouldn't be cut. Elon Musk has also accused "federal entitlements" such as Social Security of fraud.

The draft directed the Committee on Agriculture to reduce the deficit by $230 billion, which would mean cutting nutritional programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The most recent Medicaid enrollment data from October 2024 revealed over 72 million people were enrolled in Medicaid, while 7.25 million were enrolled in Children's Health Insurance Programs. Medicaid provides healthcare and long-term services coverage for lower-income Americans and is financed by both the federal government and states. In some states, over 30% of the population is covered by Medicaid. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicaid spending in 2023 was nearly $872 billion.

Some GOP leaders have proposed reducing Federal Medical Assistance Percentages, the amount the federal government pays to states based on factors such as a state's per-capita income. Others have proposed Medicaid per-capita caps, which an early House Budget Committee proposal said could save up to $900 billion. This shift would lead states to either cut back on Medicaid services or identify other methods for funding potentially billions in losses.

Figures such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have argued that Medicaid is ineffective, and some question whether it has improved people's health. Critics of the program have also said people relying on Medicaid could get insurance from other sources, such as their workplace. However, Medicaid expansions have been shown to improve care access, reduce mortality rates, and spark economic growth.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina in recent days had already moved ahead with his border security, military, and energy package, as Republicans in the upper chamber had been waiting for their House counterparts to offer their budget proposal.

Graham is aiming to pass a second budget resolution extending the 2017 tax cuts later this year.

Senate Republicans can pass a budget reconciliation bill with a simple majority, or 51 votes, as they wouldn't have to meet the normal 60-vote filibuster threshold. The party currently holds a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber.

House GOP leaders see their budget framework as one that could pave the way for passing a reconciliation bill through Congress with the priorities of Trump and top conservatives in mind. Republicans have a razor-thin 218-215 majority in the House, so every vote will be critical, and they're looking to pass one bill with Trump's signature policy desires.

Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday told reporters that Graham's plan was a "nonstarter."

"We all are trying to get to the same achievable objectives," the Louisiana Republican said. "And there's just, you know, different ideas on how to get there."

GOP leaders have recently pushed for Medicaid cuts, leading to debates over how much to cut services many Americans rely on.

Other major points from the House blueprint included increasing the debt limit by $4 trillion, reductions in education totaling $330 billion, and allocating up to $300 billion in additional border and defense spending.

The Senate's plan calls for $150 billion in additional defense spending and a $175 billion boost for border security.

• Elon Musk's work with DOGE has dominated political discourse in recent weeks.
• Early in Trump's second term, Musk has become a fixture in Washington.
• One of Musk's private jets recently left the DC area for the first time in weeks.

A Gulfstream jet owned by Elon Musk, who is these days mostly busy with his work at the Department of Government Efficiency, has left the Washington, DC area for the first time since President Donald Trump's January inauguration.

That's according to data provided by Jack Sweeney, who tracks the private planes of high-profile figures like Musk and music megastar Taylor Swift.

Flight information shows one of Musk's jets leaving Washington-Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Friday and traveling to Austin.

In recent years, Texas has become the home base for the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive. It's unclear if Musk himself was on the jet that left the Washington area.

Business Insider has reached out to Musk for comment.

Sweeney told Business Insider that it's unusual for Musk's jet to be in one place for such a long period.

"It might be possible that he left DC and flew on someone else's plane, which I don't know," Sweeney said. "But, obviously, he's been focused on the government."

Musk has become the face of Trump's efforts to shrink or eliminate government departments and agencies by focusing on their spending and finding efficiencies that could save taxpayer dollars.

The tech mogul has set his sights on the United States Agency for International Development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Department of Education, among other departments, as he aims to reduce spending across the board.

Some Democratic lawmakers have questioned whether Musk has a conflict of interest given federal contracts that his company, SpaceX, has previously received.

Others have raised concerns about the young DOGE staffers who largely lack government experience. Last week, 19 Democratic state attorneys general sued Trump for giving DOGE access to sensitive, personal information at the Treasury Department.

Musk hopes to cut at least $1 trillion in spending and has said that cutting $2 trillion in spending is the "best-case outcome."

• President Donald Trump has long sought to tackle the country's overall trade deficit.
• The combined goods and services trade deficit hit $918.4 billion in 2024, a big increase from 2023.
• There hasn't been a trade surplus in the United States since 1975.

The US Department of Commerce says the combined goods and services trade deficit stretched to a gargantuan $918.4 billion in 2024.

That's a 17% increase compared to 2023, although it's a little smaller than 2022's record-high of $944.8 billion.

Tackling trade imbalances will likely be a key part of President Donald Trump's second-term agenda.

One of the president's first official acts was to sign an executive order calling for an "America First Trade Policy," emphasizing economic investment and reducing the trade deficit.

Here's why the trade deficit is important and the role Trump's tariffs play.

A trade imbalance

A trade deficit occurs when a country imports more than it exports, which has been the case in the United States for decades. The United States hasn't had a trade surplus since 1975 — exactly 50 years ago.

The US trade deficit on goods alone was a record $1.2 trillion in 2024, and there was a trade surplus on services of about $293 billion.

Trade deficits can benefit the economy by allowing countries to consume more products than they produce. Trade deficits that are too big, however, can hurt domestic companies by potentially driving increased competition for less expensive foreign imports. Large trade deficits can also potentially lower a country's gross domestic product.

The strength of the US dollar means imports are slightly cheaper for American consumers, which is good. But it also means exports are more costly for non-US consumers. That can make it more difficult for US exporters to sell their products.

How Trump plans to balance the trade deficit

The persistent trade deficit is something Trump has long sought to reverse.

Before Trump took office, he suggested a universal 10% to 20% tariff on every country to — among other things — reduce the number of foreign imports and bring down the trade deficit.

On Friday, Trump said he'd announce "reciprocal" tariffs on multiple countries in the coming week.

During a Friday meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba of Japan at the White House, Trump said he wanted to cut the US trade deficit with Japan, which in 2024 hit $68.5 billion.

Trump didn't rule out future tariffs for Japan. However, Ishiba was highly complimentary of the US president during their meeting, and Trump said he didn't believe Japan and the US would "have any problem whatsoever."

Trump levied 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on China earlier this month. Mexico and Canada have since struck deals with the Trump administration to pause the tariffs through at least early March.

China responded with its own 10% tariff on select US imports — including crude oil, agricultural machinery, and pickup trucks.

Part of Trump's rationale for tariffs was his frustration with illegal immigration and border security, as well as the flow of illicit drugs into the United States.

Trump also cited the elevated trade deficit.

"They have to balance out their trade, No. 1," he told reporters at Maryland's Joint Base Andrews, referring to how Canada and Mexico could avoid tariffs. "We have deficits with almost every country — not every country, but almost — and we're going to change it."

Last year, the US trade deficit with China was $295 billion, a major decline from the record $418 billion gap set in 2018 — during Trump's first term.

The trade deficit with Mexico, however, grew from $78 billion in 2018 to about $172 billion in 2024.

The United States had a $63 billion trade deficit with Canada last year, but if oil and gas are left out of the equation, the United States would have a $30 billion trade surplus with its northern neighbor, according to MarketWatch.

• House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday defended efforts by Elon Musk to cut government spending.
• Johnson said Republicans would "vigorously defend" Congress' role in government.
• He said the effort by Musk's DOGE to probe spending was a "long overdue" development.

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday defended the role of Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk in scrutinizing government spending, arguing that the executive branch is acting "within the scope of their authority."

During a press briefing at the Capitol, Johnson was asked about prior GOP complaints regarding "unelected bureaucrats" exerting influence within the federal government.

"There's a reason the founding fathers put the Congress, the legislative branch, as the first article in the Constitution and we're going to vigorously defend that," he said. "But what's happening right now is a gross overreaction in the media to what is happening. The executive branch of government in our system has the right to evaluate how executive branch agencies are operating. … It's not a power grab."

DOGE was created through executive order by President Donald Trump last month and it operates out of the White House, to the dismay of Democratic critics who have warned against Musk's increased influence in federal government.

Johnson during the House GOP press conference then said the "stewardship of precious American taxpayer dollars" was being handled well.

"That's what they're doing — by putting a pause on some of these agencies and by evaluating them, by doing these internal audits," he said. "That is a long overdue, much welcome development."

"We don't see this as a threat to Article I at all. We see this as an active, engaged, committed executive branch authority doing what the executive branch should do," he added.

Congressional Democrats on Tuesday held a rally outside the Department of Treasury building in Washington where they vigorously pushed back against Musk's efforts to overhaul major departments like the Department of Education — as well as his efforts to dismantle the USAID.

• Democrats are outnumbered in Congress.
• Major policy debates among Democrats are instead unfolding in the states.
• From housing to school lunches, state Democrats are finding ways to advance their agenda.

Before President Donald Trump took office for his second term, Democrats in state legislatures across the country began preparing themselves for an onslaught of conservative-driven policies.

As the new year began, Democrats in the states filed a flurry of bills addressing everything from minimum wage increases and price fixing to child poverty and medical leave to stave off Trump's expected initiatives.

Despite the preparation, Democrats were still alarmed, however, when the administration last week sought to freeze billions in federal funding.

Here's how state Democrats are seeking to advance their priorities against the prospect of federal funding fights.

An eye on housing affordability

Trump's campaign success rested largely on the economy, rallying his base and even some longtime Democratic voters to the GOP over inflation.

The potential of a funding freeze, however, could threaten critical housing assistance programs that have aided many Americans. The president's new tariffs on imports from Canada, China, and Mexico could also raise the cost of materials for construction, causing house prices to go up.

So Democrats in the states are trying to pass a series of laws focused on housing affordability.

In Colorado, legislative Democrats are debating a bill that would regulate rent-setting computer algorithms, which many lawmakers said have allowed housing prices to be artificially increased and, in turn, have provided more favorable rent prices to landlords.

A report issued by the Biden administration in December found that renters in Denver paid $136 more each month to landlords who used the computer algorithms. (The report has since been taken down from the White House website.)

Similar efforts are underway in California, New Jersey, and Virginia, which all have Democratic-controlled legislatures.

In Wisconsin, legislative Democrats have also introduced a bill to broaden the homestead tax credit, which gives property tax relief to lower-income renters and homeowners.

Tackling child poverty

In 2021, congressional Democrats muscled through an expanded Child Tax Credit as part of then-President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan — which directed monthly payments of $250 to $300 per child from July through December of that year.

However, an extension of the expanded Child Tax Credit failed to materialize due to opposition from then-Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. And there was inaction on the issue at the federal level during the final two years of Biden's terms.

Among the uncertainty caused by January's funding freeze order, many eyes turned to the National School Lunch Program, a federal program that provides low-cost or free lunches to schoolchildren.

Democratic lawmakers in Alaska, Washington, New York, and Virginia are looking to pass legislation that would make school breakfasts and lunches free for all public K-12 students.

While there's no guarantee that the school lunch bills will pass in every state, Democrats are positioned to pass many of their highest-profile priorities in the states. And legislative Democrats are set to play a huge role in how the party navigates Trump's second term.

"The Trump administration is leading with chaos and confusion while prioritizing billionaires over working families," Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams told Business Insider in a statement.

"As families scramble to navigate the dysfunction and make ends meet, state Democrats are picking up Washington's mess and bringing real solutions forward to bring prices down," she said. "From boosting rental assistance to eliminating the cost of school meals, Democrats are laser-focused and leading the fight against the callous economic devastation threatened by Trump and Republicans."

• Industry and business leaders are reacting to President Donald Trump's latest tariffs.
• The Trump administration said Saturday it had imposed new levies on Canada, Mexico, and China.
• All three countries vowed to retaliate, threatening a trade war.

Billionaires, industry leaders, and executives are reacting to President Donald Trump's tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China.

The Trump administration said Saturday it had imposed a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on China.

The announcement sparked swift responses from all three countries. Canada and Mexico promised retaliatory tariffs, and China vowed "corresponding countermeasures."

Trump says the tariffs are necessary to pressure Mexico, Canada, and China to do more to stem the flow of illegal fentanyl into the United States. Addiction and overdoses related to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, have gripped the United States for years, hollowing out towns and city neighborhoods all over the country. The drug is often produced in China and smuggled over US borders.

"Trump is taking bold action to hold Mexico, Canada, and China accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country," the White House said in a statement on Saturday.

Business leaders, however, are urging Trump to reconsider, fearing a global trade war that could wreak havoc on American industries.

Mark Cuban, billionaire entrepreneur

In a post on Bluesky, Cuban warned that the new levies would cost people money and hurt businesses.

"I'm going to put my rich guy hat on and say I hope that Mexico and Canada issue equal, retaliatory tariffs and stick to them for an extended period," Cuban wrote.

"I apologize to all the people it will cost money and the businesses it will hurt. But it's the only way for tariffs to be seen for what they are."

Tobi Lütke, Shopify CEO

In a post on X, Lütke, the CEO of the Canadian firm Shopify, said he was disappointed with the US tariffs and Canada's government's response.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that Canada would impose 25% tariffs on C$155 billion (around $106 billion) of US goods following the Trump administration's decision.

But Lütke said hitting back would "not lead to anything good."

"Canada thrives when it works with America together. Win by helping America win," he wrote. "These tariffs are going to be devastating to so many people's lives and small businesses."

Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Mexican billionaire

Pliego, the chairman of the retail and banking conglomerate Grupo Elektra, slammed the tariffs in a series of posts on X but said Mexico should not retaliate.

"As things stand, there is nothing to do but endure this misfortune imposed on us," he wrote. "Perhaps, with the passage of time, more prepared and sensible minds will prevail in the USA and things will change, but that is not in our hands."

"What we definitely SHOULD NOT DO is play the 'Boy Hero' and throw ourselves into the void, by putting MORE taxes on Mexican citizens, who are already screwed by Trump's actions," he added.

Aluminum Association

The Aluminum Association has urged Trump to exempt Canada from the tariffs, saying it was vital to help protect jobs and local manufacturers.

In a statement on Saturday, Charles Johnson, the president and CEO of the association, which represents aluminum production and jobs in the United States, welcomed Trump's efforts to "support American manufacturing" but said the industry's strength relied on imports from the north.

"Thanks to robust domestic demand and coming investment, the US aluminum industry needs a steady and predictable supply of primary, secondary and scrap aluminum," Johnson said. "Today, much of that metal comes from North American trading partners, especially Canada."

United Steelworkers

The USW, representing 850,000 workers in metals, mining, and other industries, has also called for Trump to reconsider tariffs on Canada.

In a statement, USW International President David McCall said the union had "long called for systemic reform of our broken trade system, but lashing out at key allies like Canada is not the way forward."

"Canada has proven itself time and again to be one of our strongest partners when it comes to national security, and our economies are deeply integrated," the statement continued.

National Association of Manufacturers

NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said manufacturers were already facing increasing cost pressures and that the latest tariffs on Canada and Mexico threatened "to upend the very supply chains that have made US manufacturing more competitive globally."

"The ripple effects will be severe, particularly for small and medium-sized manufacturers," Timmons added. "Ultimately, manufacturers will bear the brunt of these tariffs, undermining our ability to sell our products at a competitive price and putting American jobs at risk."

National Association of Home Builders

The NAHB said the tariffs on Canada and Mexico could increase construction costs and ultimately lead to higher home prices.

"More than 70% of the imports of two essential materials that home builders rely on—softwood lumber and gypsum (used for drywall)—come from Canada and Mexico, respectively," NAHB Chairman Carl Harris said in a statement.

"NAHB urges the administration to reconsider this action on tariffs."

National Retail Federation

David French, the executive vice president of government relations for the National Retail Federation, said in a statement the trade association backs Trump's push to solidify trade ties and ensure that the US has favorable trade conditions.

However, French called the tariffs on the three countries a "serious step."

"We strongly encourage all parties to continue negotiating to find solutions that will strengthen trade relationships and avoid shifting the costs of shared policy failures onto the backs of American families, workers and small businesses," he said in a statement.

"The retail industry is committed to working with President Trump and his administration to achieve his campaign promises, including strengthening the US economy, extending his successful Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and ensuring that American families are protected from higher costs," he added.

Distilled Spirits Council of the US, the Mexican Chamber of the Tequila Industry, and Spirits Canada

In a joint statement, the Distilled Spirits Council of the US, the Mexican Chamber of the Tequila Industry, and Spirits Canada, said the implementation of tariffs threatens the growth of trade in spirits across the three countries, a major issue given setbacks related to COVID-19 and inflation.

"Our associations are committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to explore solutions that prevent potential tariffs on distilled spirits," the groups said in their statement. "We are deeply concerned that US tariffs on imported spirits from Canada and Mexico will significantly harm all three countries and lead to a cycle of retaliatory tariffs that negatively impacts our shared industry."

"Maintaining fair and reciprocal duty-free access for all distilled spirits is crucial for supporting jobs and shared growth across North America," they added.

American Automotive Policy Council

Matt Blunt, former governor of Missouri and president of the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents Ford Motor, General Motors, and Stellantis, told BI that he doesn't believe that vehicles and parts that meet the USMCA's requirements — agreed upon by the US, Canada, and Mexico in 2020 — should be subject to increased tariffs.

"Our American automakers, who invested billions in the US to meet these requirements, should not have their competitiveness undermined by tariffs that will raise the cost of building vehicles in the United States and stymie investment in the American workforce," Blunt said.

Canadian Chamber of Commerce

Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, representing more than 200,000 businesses, called Trump's tariffs "self-defeating" and "profoundly disturbing" in a statement.

"Our supply chains are so deeply integrated that you can't unwind them overnight," wrote Laing, "Which is why if President Trump truly wanted to bring down costs for Americans, he would be looking at strengthening our trade ties, not tearing them apart."

Laing recounted how the US relies on Canadian imports, such as crude oil and critical minerals, and said that Canada's "job number one" right now is to build resilience and provide security to Canadian families and businesses that are "rightly scared" by the tariffs.

"If we can't trade south, let's diversify our trading partners and dismantle unnecessary internal trade barriers to keep goods and services flowing north, east, and west," she added, "A strong, united, and competitive Canadian economy will thrive no matter what gets thrown our way."

American Petroleum Institute

Mike Sommers, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, with some 600 members that produce and distribute the majority of the nation's energy, called energy markets "highly integrated" and Canadian crude oil "critical" for American consumers in a statement.

"The US is the largest market for Canadian crude oil exports and Mexico is the No. 1 destination for US refined product exports," said Sommers, "We will continue to work with the Trump administration on full exclusions that protect energy affordability for consumers, expand the nation's energy advantage and support American jobs."

United Auto Workers Union

Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers Union, said in a statement on Saturday that his union "supports aggressive tariff action to protect American manufacturing jobs as a good first step to undoing decades of anti-worker trade policy."

According to the UAW website, the union has over 400,000 active members and more than 580,000 retired members in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

"If Trump is serious about bringing back good blue collar jobs destroyed by NAFTA, the USMCA, and the WTO, he should go a step further and immediately seek to renegotiate our broken trade deals," Fain added.

• The Pentagon will replace some large media outlets that have long had desks inside the Pentagon.
• Outlets like NBC News and The New York Times will lose their space.
• It's part of a "rotation program" that allows different media outlets to work from the Pentagon.

The Defense Department said it is implementing a new "annual media rotation program," which means some legacy media outlets — like The New York Times and NBC News — will lose their longtime Pentagon workspaces to a slate of new publications.

In a major shake-up for the Pentagon's "Correspondents' Corridor," Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Ullyot announced in a memo to the Pentagon Press Association that The New York Times, NBC, National Public Radio, and Politico would all have to vacate their office space in the building.

The sought-after space will be offered instead to The New York Post, Breitbart News, One America News Network, and The Huffington Post.

The changes — which the memo said were intended to "broaden access to the limited space of the Correspondents' Corridor" — are set to take effect on February 14.

"Each year, one outlet from each press medium — print, online, television, and radio — that has enjoyed working from a physical office in the Pentagon will rotate out of the building to allow a new outlet from the same medium that has not had the unique opportunity to report as a resident member of the Pentagon Press Corps," the memo read.

Ullyot also said in the memo that access to the Pentagon would remain unchanged for the publications that have been removed from their traditional office spaces.

"They will continue to enjoy the same media access to the Pentagon and will be able to attend and cover briefings and be considered for travel with civilian and military leaders in the Department as they have previously," the memo read.

In a statement to Business Insider, NPR urged the Department of Defense to "expand the offices available to press" at the Pentagon.

"This decision interferes with the ability of millions of Americans to directly hear from Pentagon leadership, and with NPR's public interest mission to serve Americans who turn to our network of local public media stations in all 50 states," the statement read.

New York Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander told BI that the newspaper is "committed to covering the Pentagon fully and fairly."

"This move to expel the Times and other independent, fact-based news outlets from the Pentagon's press spaces is a concerning development," Stadtlander said. "Steps designed to impede access are clearly not in the public interest."

NBC News said in a statement it was "disappointed" by the decision.

"Despite the significant obstacles this presents to our ability to gather and report news in the national public interest, we will continue to report with the same integrity and rigor NBC News always has," the outlet said.

In January, the Senate narrowly confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaker after three Republicans joined every Democrat in rejecting his nomination — a significant departure from the broad support that the GOP-controlled Senate has so far granted to most of President Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees.

The outlets who will have to vacate their Pentagon workspaces all covered Hegseth's tumultuous confirmation process, during which he faced questions about alcohol abuse and sexual assault accusations stemming from a 2017 incident.

Hegseth, who was sworn into his new role on January 25, has denied the allegations.

The Defense Department's move also comes as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced earlier this week that the Trump administration would be granting access to the White House press briefing room to "new media" — which includes TikTok content creators and podcasters.

• President Trump is steering the federal government in a distinctly conservative direction.
• Upon entering office for his second term, he signed a slew of executive orders to achieve this goal.
• There are many key dates to look out for as the administration rolls out its agenda.

Roughly a month into his second term, President Donald Trump's sweeping agenda has started to take shape, with the president signing executive orders on everything from return-to-office mandates to tough immigration measures.

For weeks, the threat of tariffs loomed, and while Trump announced on February 1 that he'd enact them for imports from Canada and Mexico, the tariffs for both countries were paused on February 3 for at least 30 days.

Here's a look at some of the key dates for initiatives and plans put into place by the Trump administration:

Feb. 1, 2025: Tariffs enacted for Canada, China, and Mexico

Shortly after the November general election, Trump vowed to impose 25% tariffs on imported goods from Canada and Mexico, two of the United States' leading trading partners.

Trump said both countries have allowed drugs and migrants to pour into the US, which ties squarely into the president's hard-line stance on immigration issues.

Trump also floated a 10% across-the-board tariff on Chinese goods.

On Feb. 1, the president followed through on his pledge, enacting the tariffs for all three countries.

As part of his executive orders, Canadian energy products would have a 10% tariff rate.

Feb. 3, 2025: Trump pauses tariffs for Canada and Mexico

Trump on Feb. 3 agreed to a 30-day pause on his administration's tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said they'd enact security plans at their respective borders with the US. Sheinbaum said she'd send 10,000 of her country's national guard troops to the border in an effort to stop the flow of fentanyl into the US. And Trudeau said that Canada would appoint a fentanyl czar and bolster intelligence-gathering efforts regarding the flow of illicit drugs, among other directives.

Feb. 4, 2025: China responds with tariffs on select US imports

Beijing on Feb. 4 responded to Trump's tariffs on China by imposing a 10 percent tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, pickup trucks, and some large cars.

China is also targeting the US by imposing an additional 15 percent tariff on coal and natural gas.

Feb. 6, 2025: Deadline for federal workers to accept buyout

The Office of Personnel Management on Jan. 28 issued a letter offering all federal employees payouts and giving them a Feb. 6 deadline to accept the offer.

Federal employees who accepted the administration's offer by the deadline "will retain all pay and benefits regardless of your daily workload and will be exempted from all applicable in-person work requirements until September 30, 2025 (or earlier if you choose to accelerate your resignation for any reason)," the letter on the OPM's website read.

The buyout offer came as Trump has quickly sought to not only reduce the size of the federal workforce but also install loyalists in key positions within the government.

The Trump administration in February announced that roughly 77,000 federal workers accepted the offer.

On Feb. 12, a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled that the administration could proceed with its buyout offer after three federal employee unions filed a lawsuit on behalf of their members to halt the buyout program.

The administration then promptly closed the window for any additional federal employees to accept the offer.

Feb. 7, 2025: First jobs report under Trump

The first employment situation report under Trump's second term was released on Feb. 7, with the the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting that 143,000 jobs were created in January.

Since Trump's second term began on Jan. 20, the bulk of the report featured employment data from former President Joe Biden's last month in office.

In January 2025, the unemployment rate in the US sat at 4%, a slight decrease from the 4.1% unemployment rate recorded in December 2024.

Feb. 7, 2025: Agencies should have plans for federal workers to come back to the office

The Trump administration set the date of Feb. 7 for federal agencies to have plans for how they'll adhere to the president's return-to-work order for employees.

The implementation plans are expected to be vetted and approved by the Office of Personnel Management and Office of Management and Budget.

March 7, 2025: First jobs report for Trump for his first full month in office

The February jobs report, which will include Trump's first full month in office, will be released on March 7.

Trump ran on tamping down inflation and lowering food costs, as well as making the broader economy more prosperous for a wide swath of Americans. It'll still be incredibly early in Trump's term when the report is released, but the report could set the tone for how he messages his economic policies throughout the rest of the year.

March 21, 2025: Deadline to eliminate most DEI offices and positions

On Inauguration Day, Trump signed an executive order to end "illegal and immoral discrimination" Biden-era programs implemented to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Trump and many of his Republican allies have rallied against DEI initiatives. Their pressure campaign has begun to spill over into corporate America, with top companies like Target rolling back some diversity-focused efforts.

Some agencies have already put employees on paid leave. Officials are also submitting lists of names to the White House, Government Executive reported.

By late March, Trump's EO calls for each agency head to the maximum extent allowed by the law to carry out the terminations of covered positions and programs.

April 5, 2025: End of a 75-day extension of the TikTok ban

Trump on Jan. 20 signed an executive order to pause the TikTok ban for 75 days, which would allow further efforts to find a US buyer for the highly popular social media platform.

The end of the 75-day period would be April 5, 2025.

May 4, 2025: The first step in creating a US sovereign wealth fund

Trump fulfilled another campaign promise by taking the first step on February 3rd toward creating a US sovereign wealth fund.

His executive order gives the Treasury and Commerce secretaries 90 days to develop a plan for such a fund.

Billionaire investor Scott Bessent was confirmed to lead the Treasury Department in January. And Howard Lutnick, a billionaire businessman, was confirmed as Trump's commerce secretary in February.

Trump said such a fund could be used to buy TikTok.

There has been bipartisan agreement for a state-owned investment fund in the past. Biden's advisors previously explored the idea.

Sometime in 2025: GOP hopes to pass a reconciliation bill addressing tax cuts

Trump is pushing for Republicans to pass a massive reconciliation bill that would lower taxes, dramatically roll back green energy measures, and make cuts to safety net spending.

While cuts to Social Security or Medicare are very likely off limits in the plans, Democrats could find their political footing in critiquing whatever plan emerges from the GOP congressional leaders.

Republicans are divided in their approach to tackling Trump's legislative priorities.

House GOP leaders want to pass one big reconciliation bill that would allow for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and include roughly $300 billion in additional border and defense spending. However, Senate Republican leaders are aiming to pass a border security, military, and energy package first, with a second budget resolution focused on tax cuts to come later in 2025.

July 4, 2026: The Department of Government Efficiency will sunset

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has grand plans for the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, as it aims to cut at least $1 trillion in spending from the federal budget.

While DOGE is still in the earliest stages of its work, the commission isn't designed to be a permanent fixture of Washington.

When Musk and onetime co-lead Vivek Ramaswamy wrote about DOGE in a Wall Street Journal op-ed last year, they said the commission would be phased out next year — on July 4, 2026.

"There is no better birthday gift to our nation on its 250th anniversary than to deliver a federal government that would make our Founders proud," the two men wrote at the time.

• Donald Trump threatened 25% tariffs on Colombian goods after Colombia rejected deportation flights.
• President Gustavo Petro had blocked flights with deported migrants from landing in his country.
• But the White House reversed course, saying it had struck a deal with Colombia.

The Trump White House on Sunday walked back its tariff threats on Colombia, hours after it said it would impose 25% tariffs on goods from the country.

"The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump's terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay," the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said in a Sunday statement on X.

Earlier Sunday, President Donald Trump said the United States would impose tariffs on Colombia after its president turned away two flights carrying deported migrants.

"A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves," Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Sunday. "That is why I returned the US military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants."

Trump responded on Truth Social, announcing immediate tariffs and vowing they'd increase if Petro didn't comply.

"I have directed my Administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures: Emergency 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States," he said. "In one week, the 25% tariffs will be raised to 50%."

Trump also announced a travel ban on Colombian government officials and visa sanctions on individuals tied to the country's government.

"These measures are just the beginning," the president said. "We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!"

Petro said in a statement on X that he would receive Colombians "on civilian planes, without treating them like criminals."

In the White House's statement on X, Leavitt said the tariffs and sanctions "will be held in reserve" unless Colombia "fails to honor this agreement."

Petro reposted Leavitt's X statement.

The US is Colombia's largest trading partner. Some of the leading Colombian exports to the United States are coffee, bananas, flowers, and crude oil.

Trump's posture on the repatriation of migrants has rankled some governments in Latin America. NBC News reported that Mexico on Thursday also refused to allow a US military flight carrying migrants to land in the country.

Trump has long made immigration a central issue. While President Joe Biden was in office, Trump railed against the number of migrants who crossed the US southern border, making the issue a centerpiece of his 2024 campaign.

Trump pledged during the campaign to enact the biggest mass deportation plan in US history once he assumed office for his second term.

• JD Vance said it would take some time for grocery prices to drop.
• "Rome wasn't built in a day," he told CBS News in his first sit-down interview as vice president.
• Vance said that increased capital investment would be a key part of lowering costs.

Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration's efforts to lower grocery prices would take some time.

"We have done a lot," Vance told CBS' "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan when asked about the executive actions signed by President Donald Trump. "There have been a number of executive orders that have caused, already, jobs to start coming back into our country, which is a core part of lowering prices."

"Prices are going to come down, but it's going to take a little bit of time, right?" he continued. "The president has been president for all of five days."

During the 2024 US presidential race, inflation was a top issue for voters, many of whom backed the GOP ticket because they believed it could improve the economy. Vance said increased capital investment would be one area that the administration would focus on as it looks to steer the economy with its conservative policies.

"We're going to work with Congress … the way that you lower prices is that you encourage more capital investment into our country," he said.

"Rome wasn't built in a day," he added.

Brennan asked Vance when consumers would actually notice a shift in prices, which prompted him to say that the administration's energy policies would also help.

"How does bacon get to the grocery store? It comes on trucks that are fueled by diesel fuel," he said. "If the diesel is way too expensive, the bacon is going to become more expensive."

"How do we grow the bacon? Our farmers need energy to produce it," he continued. "So if we lower energy prices, we are going to see lower prices for consumers, and that is what we're trying to fight for."

Last Monday, Trump signed an executive order instructing departments and agencies to "deliver emergency price relief, consistent with applicable law, to the American people." Pursuant to the order, Trump directed the government to find ways to lower housing costs and boost the housing supply, generate employment opportunities for Americans, and eliminate policies that he believes have driven up the costs of food and gas.

Trump also signed an executive order declaring a national energy emergency. The president's action came even as oil and gas production flourished under former President Joe Biden.

• President Donald Trump stopped in Las Vegas on Saturday.
• He discussed his proposal to exclude workers' tips from federal taxes.
• Trump said he will work with Congress to push forward legislation.

President Donald Trump stopped in Las Vegas on Saturday to share details about his administration's plan to exclude workers' tips from federal taxes.

The president first announced his proposal last June during a campaign rally, also in Nevada, where a significant portion of the workforce is in the hospitality industry and where he scored a major victory in November.

Trump would need approval for the tax change from Congress, where Republicans hold majorities in both chambers.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, promoted a similar idea during her campaign.

While in Las Vegas, Trump said he'd work with members of Congress "in the coming weeks" to ensure a bill reaches his desk.

"No tax on tips!" Trump said as a crowd of supporters cheered nearby. During the speech, Trump said his administration would also raise worker wages, but did not share additional details.

During his speech, Trump welcomed American Hotel and Lodging Association CEO and President Rosanna Maietta onstage, where she spoke about the proposal's potential impact on the service industry.

"I am here to tell you that the American dream is alive and well in the hotel industry today," she said.

She referenced the tax bill Trump promoted in 2017 during his first administration. "The 'no tax on tips' builds on that momentum," Maietta said. "So, we are so excited to support you in that effort."

She added that her organization would urge Congress to pass Trump's proposal.

In June, however, Trump's remarks drew criticism from the Culinary Workers Union, which includes Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165. The union represents 60,000 workers in the Las Vegas and Reno areas.

"For decades, the Culinary Union has fought for tipped workers' rights and against unfair taxation," Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said in a statement at the time. "Relief is definitely needed for tip earners, but Nevada workers are smart enough to know the difference between real solutions and wild campaign promises from a convicted felon."

In a statement to Business Insider on Saturday, Pappageorge said, "The Culinary Union welcomes plans to end taxes on tips, but it must not end there."

"Eliminating taxes on tips and ending the $2.13 sub-minimum wage — that is the reality in too many states across the country — will uplift millions of hospitality workers," he said. "Taking on both issues is critical to ensuring one job is enough for workers to support their families."

The statement urged Republicans to reach across the aisle and work with Democrats to find solutions.

"Republicans have made promises to lower the cost of living for Americans. Delivering on those commitments must start with meaningful action, and they must work with Democrats to raise the sub-minimum wage, eliminate taxes on tips, and address corporate greed driving up prices on essential goods like food, gas, and housing," Pappageorge added. "It's time for Congress to act now to deliver real solutions for working families."

Some experts who track the industry earlier told Business Insider that eliminating federal taxes on tips could have unintended negative consequences, like encouraging employers to lower wages to avoid taxes.

Martha Gimbel, the executive director of Yale University's Budget Lab, told BI that a new system would create "an incentive for employers to try to get more of their workers' compensation in the form of tips."

Gimbel said the proposal could let business owners shift the onus for employee salaries onto customers and claim tax breaks through lower payroll and Social Security fees.

Representatives for the White House did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Trump's speech in Nevada comes one day after he visited California to address the wildfires that have devastated parts of Los Angeles County and elsewhere.

While at a roundtable with local California officials, the president said he would help fund relief efforts but did not detail how much federal aid California could receive.

Trump also said he would implement an executive order to direct more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to Southern California and Central Valley.

On Friday, Trump also visited North Carolina, where some parts of the state are still recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Helene.

Trump on Friday also floated overhauling or eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency, calling it a "big disappointment."

The president said his administration was eyeing mechanisms for potentially empowering governors when it comes to disaster aid.

• Bill Gates, in a recent Journal interview, said Elon Musk's DOGE could be "a valuable thing."
• Gates said the federal deficit will "create a financial problem" for the US if it isn't reduced.
• But the Microsoft cofounder also said it was important to retain vital programs.

Bill Gates, in a recent Wall Street Journal interview, said the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency could be a "valuable" effort, adding that it's important to reduce the size of the federal budget deficit.

"I think the idea that looking at government expenditures on a sort of zero-based budgeting approach could be a valuable thing," he told the newspaper. "I'm amongst the people who think the deficit needs to be brought down because otherwise, it will create a financial problem for us. That effort could come up with some good things."

DOGE, which recently saw the departure of businessman Vivek Ramaswamy as a co-lead, aims to tackle government inefficiencies and reduce the deficit.

After DOGE was first proposed, Musk set a goal to cut $2 trillion in spending. However, during a conversation with political strategist Mark Penn earlier in January, Musk said the $2 trillion figure was a "best-case outcome" and that the commission had a "good shot" at saving $1 trillion.

DOGE announced on Friday that it had canceled roughly $420 million worth of existing or forthcoming contracts, in addition to two leases. However, according to Business Insider's calculations, the commission would need to be far more aggressive in its spending cuts to meet any of its goals.

During Gates' interview, Journal editor in chief Emma Tucker asked the Microsoft cofounder where he'd look to find savings if he was leading DOGE.

"Well, given the numbers that they've tossed around, they'll have to look at everything, including pension, defense, healthcare," he said.

However, Gates said he had concerns about the government shutting down resources that have "long-term benefits" for citizens, specifically citing HIV.

"I obviously believe in HIV medicines, where the US is keeping tens of millions of people alive," he said. "If you cut those off, not only would they die when we have a cure on its way, but the negative feelings you'd have, say in Africa, would be worse than never having done the thing at all."

While rising to prominence in the technology sphere, Gates has also long been known for his philanthropic work through the Gates Foundation, which he cofounded in 2000 with his then-wife Melinda French Gates.

During the 2024 presidential race, Gates didn't publicly endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. But the New York Times reported in October that he privately donated $50 million to a pro-Harris super PAC. After the story was published, Gates released a statement pointing to his bipartisan background while adding that "this election is different."

In December, Gates traveled to Mar-a-Lago to dine with then-President-elect Donald Trump and recently told The Journal he was "impressed" with the president's interest in global health issues.

• President Trump announced a private sector AI infrastructure investment of up to $500 billion.
• OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank will work together to create a venture named Stargate.
• The US aims to maintain AI leadership against China as geopolitical stakes remain high.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a private sector investment of up to $500 billion for artificial intelligence infrastructure across the country.

OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank will work together to create a venture named Stargate, with the president calling it "the largest AI infrastructure project in history" while touting the role of the US in leading the effort.

"Together these world-leading technology giants are announcing the formation of Stargate … a new American company that will invest $500 billion at least in AI infrastructure in the United States," he said.

"Put that name down in your books, because I think you're going to hear a lot about it," he added.

Trump said the venture would create more than 100,000 American jobs, with the investment set to be made over the next four years.

Oracle's stock rose close to 5% in after-hours trading, while SoftBank rose over 9% in Japan following the announcement.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, and SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son attended the White House announcement.

Altman, in his remarks, said he was "thrilled" by the venture and said it'll be the "most important project of this era."

"The fact that we get to do this in the United States is just wonderful," he said. "I believe that as this technology progresses, we will see diseases get cured at an unprecedented rate."

And Ellison, at the White House, described Stargate as a "very exciting program for Oracle to be a part of."

AI is energy-hungry

For foundation models to keep improving, companies that use them — like OpenAI and Anthropic — need lots of fuel.

That fuel comes in the form of chips, energy, and talent, and the Trump administration's policies on each stand to shape the future of computing, potentially creating winners and losers along the way.

The stakes are high. Growing AI in America isn't just a money-maker, it's a geopolitical card played against the other big global tech player: China.

Trump on AI

Trump on Monday revoked the Biden Administration's Executive Order on AI from October 2023. The order pushed for greater transparency from large companies developing and using AI.

After winning the 2024 presidential election, Trump appointed a new AI and cryptocurrency czar in venture capitalist David Sacks.

In his first term as president, Trump issued an executive order focused on AI leadership and non-regulatory approaches to expanding and maintaining it.

Chips

In his final weeks in office, President Joe Biden's Department of Commerce published new, sweeping export restrictions on the kind of semiconductors required for AI.

The regulations, set to go into effect early in Trump's second term, would restrict and cap the amount of computing power companies can amass in most countries outside a list of 18 allies.

If maintained by the Trump administration, the impact of these changes will likely be to concentrate AI data centers in the US.

Last week, Biden signed an executive order to grant federal sites to construct data centers and "clean energy."

Talent

The two ways AI companies acquire game-changing talent are in question as the US transitions from Biden to Trump.

The first is mergers and acquisitions. Nvidia, along with Microsoft and OpenAI, are the subject of a Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission investigation into possible antitrust violations.

The scrutiny created a cooling effect across the AI ecosystem. Trump's anti-regulation tendencies suggest a more open field for mergers and acquisitions in his term.

The second factor impacting the availability of AI talent in the US is the H-1B visa program. In recent weeks, there has been some disagreement within Trump's party regarding the program, which is designed to facilitate the immigration of skilled workers to the US.

Energy and data centers

AI also needs chips, but assuring an ample supply of those is for naught without enough energy to run the data centers. Since AI chips are hungrier than traditional computer chips, power is the most important limiting factor to the industry's growth.

"They have to produce a lot of electricity," the president said on Tuesday. "And we'll make it possible for them to get this production done easily, at their own plants if they want."

Trump's views on energy production and the climate crisis differ greatly from Biden's. The new president has long focused on continuing American leadership in fossil fuel production.

Shubhangi Goel contributed reporting.

• Donald Trump signed a return-to-office order for federal workers during his first hours in office.
• Many federal civilian workers were eligible for telework but not working remotely all the time.
• Elon Musk indicated in November that he supports government workers being fully in the office.

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order mandating that federal workers return to their offices full-time, a core element of his focus on overhauling the government workforce.

For years, Republicans have sought to weaken protections that federal workers have long enjoyed, with many conservatives zeroing in on reclassifying scores of career civil servants.

"Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of Government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary," the order read.

Trump has been especially insistent on a return-to-office push, with his position threatening the remote and hybrid arrangements that many federal workers have enjoyed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some workers may consider quitting instead of working from the office full time.

Elon Musk, who will lead Trump's cost-cutting advisory group, the Department of Government Efficiency, said he'd welcome this.

"Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome: If federal employees don't want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn't pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home," Musk said in a November op-ed in The Wall Street Journal. The op-ed was co-written with Vivek Ramaswamy, who is leaving DOGE and is expected to run for governor of Ohio.

While many federal employees can telework, an August 2024 report from the Office of Management and Budget said around 10% of the roughly 2.3 million civilian workers in two dozen major agencies, including the Department of Defense and the Social Security Administration, "were in remote positions where there was no expectation that they worked in-person on any regular or recurring basis."

That includes over 60,000 people in the Department of Defense, around 37,000 in the Department of Veterans Affairs, and nearly 27,000 in the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Office of Management and Budget found, based on average data representing pay periods ending May 4 and May 18, around 1.1 million civilian workers employed in the two dozen agencies were eligible for telework.

The Department of Defense has a large workforce compared to the other agencies, but only about 8% were remote employees.

"Among the subset of federal workers that are telework-eligible, excluding remote workers, 61.2% of regular, working hours were spent in-person," the OMB report said. That figure for the Department of Agriculture was 81%, and around 80% for the Department of State.

When asked about potential relocation out of DC and return to office before the inauguration, Trump's transition team pointed to Trump's comments at a December 16 press conference that if people don't return to the office, "they're going to be dismissed."

On Monday, Trump also issued an executive order that put a freeze on federal hiring.

"As part of this freeze, no Federal civilian position that is vacant at noon on January 20, 2025, may be filled, and no new position may be created except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or other applicable law," the order read.

That executive order does not apply to military personnel, immigration enforcement positions, or positions involving national security or public safety.

• President Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency at the southern border.
• The president also signed an executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship.
• Economists and researchers said Trump's deportation plans could have negative economic impacts.

President Donald Trump upon arriving at the White House on Monday signed executive orders declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border and designating cartel organizations as "foreign terrorist organizations," ramping up his focus on immigration in his second term.

"I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country," he said during his inaugural speech earlier in the day at the Capitol.

Later, at the White House, Trump signed an order instructing the Secretary of Defense to send him a plan within 10 days to task US Northern Command with securing the border. Trump's advisors have said they were not concerned about laws limiting US troops' involvement in domestic law enforcement.

"As Commander in Chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions and that is exactly what I am going to do," he continued. "We will do it at a level nobody has ever seen before.

Trump also signed an executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship, a highly controversial move but one championed by many conservatives. Legal scholars have been clear that no president can unilaterally overrule the Constitution, meaning historic legal fights are almost guaranteed to follow.

The president also said he'd reinstate his Remain in Mexico policy and "end the practice of catch and release."

The Remain in Mexico policy — which was launched in 2019 during Trump's first term — mandates that migrants seeking asylum to remain in Mexico pending their immigration court date in the US.

Throughout his campaign, Trump argued that deportations could benefit the US economy. He has said that removing large numbers of people in the country illegally could open job opportunities for US-born workers and legal immigrants and could bring housing prices down.

Business Insider has spoken to over a dozen immigration researchers and policy analysts across the political spectrum. While some conservative-leaning researchers said reducing the number of people coming into the US and living in the country illegally, along with large-scale mass deportations, is necessary to protect American safety and could have long-term economic benefits, left- and center-leaning researchers said there may be economic shocks.

The US had an estimated 11.7 million immigrants living in the US illegally as of July 2023, per the most recent numbers from the Center for Migration Studies. As many as 8.3 million people in this demographic work, per CMS estimates.

Mass deportations could have significant economic consequences, some researchers told BI. The American Immigration Council estimated that a "one-time mass deportation operation" would directly cost the federal government $315 billion, accounting for detainments, arrests, legal processing, and removals.

Trump's promises for large-scale deportations

In interviews and speeches, Trump has stressed his belief that the US has had no choice but to carry out large-scale deportations. He also confirmed plans to use the military for deportation efforts in November, along with using a 1798 law allowing for the deportation of suspected gang and cartel members.

Before Inauguration Day, Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, told ABC News that the administration was reviewing plans for immigration raids in Chicago. Trump has threatened to crack down on illegal immigration in communities in Colorado and Ohio, whose high concentrations of immigrants have drawn national attention.

When asked about potential raids, Trump told reporters he did not want to discuss the specific timing of such operations.

Homan previously stressed that deportations would not involve sweeps of immigrant-heavy neighborhoods and would instead target immigrants with criminal records.

In private meetings, Homan told Republican lawmakers to tone down expectations for initial deportations due to limited resources. Homan told CNN he would need at least 100,000 beds to carry out detainment plans.

CNN also reported that Homan and lawmakers discussed a plan to target the 1.4 million people with final immigration orders of removal as part of a tiered approach to deportation. Concerns have risen about ICE's lack of space for a heightened number of detainees, as well as various legal challenges to its plans for deportations.

Other plans include working with local and state law enforcement agencies and reassigning law enforcement officials to ICE officers, The New York Times reported. The Trump team may also expand expedited removal, the process of removing noncitizens without a hearing and drafting limitations on birthright citizenship, such as ceasing to issue passports to children born in the US to immigrant parents who live in the US illegally.

Trump named Stephen Miller, the chief architect of Trump's first-term travel ban, as Homeland Security advisor and White House deputy chief of staff.

The border has calmed down recently. US Border Patrol calculated 47,330 migrant encounters along the southwest border in December, among the lowest since mid-2020 — and an over 80% reduction since December 2023.

During Trump's first term in office, the US deported about 1.5 million people. Between January 2021 and August 2024, when Biden held office, more than 1.4 million deportations were carried out.

Mass deportations could hurt American jobs

One of Trump's arguments about immigrants is that they steal jobs from native-born workers. Recent research shows that US-born employment increases with immigration, and deportations hurt native job numbers.

"US-born workers do not simply take all the jobs left behind by immigrants after they are deported," Chloe East, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies immigration policy, told BI. "This is because these jobs are lower-paid, more dangerous, and otherwise less desirable than the jobs more often taken by US-born workers."

The US has already seen examples of this in its recent history. Around 400,000 people were deported between 2008 and 2014 through a program called Secure Communities. Research published in October showed industries experienced heightened worker shortages as a result.

This also included the construction workforce, which employs among the highest numbers of workers living in the US illegally.

"The labor market is already tense and tight, and construction is one of those industries that doesn't have enough workers," Jennie Murray, president and CEO of the immigrant advocacy nonprofit group National Immigration Forum, told BI. She added that deportations could worsen housing shortages in the US.

Consumers may feel the effects of deportations at the grocery store, as a reduced agricultural workforce could mean less locally sourced food and higher prices. A Center for American Progress analysis from 2021 found that nearly 300,000 workers living in the US illegally were in agriculture and farming — around 13% of the 2.3 million workers in the agriculture sector that year.

The broader economy could be impacted

Immigrants living in the US illegally also contribute significantly to taxes and government programs. In 2022, they paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes, per the most recent data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. They paid $25.7 billion in Social Security taxes and $6.4 billion in Medicare taxes while being ineligible to receive benefits from those social insurance programs.

However, Republicans have argued that welfare programs and taxpayer-subsidized health insurance for immigrants have cost US residents billions, potentially partly offsetting these gains.

Some think tanks said the broader economy could suffer if millions of people are deported. The Peterson Institute for International Economics wrote in September that if 1.3 million people are deported, GDP could fall 1.2% below baseline by 2028.