Revamping Uncle Sam: Musk and Ramaswamy's Mission to Trim the Federal Beast

Billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy are spearheading moves to significantly reduce the $6 trillion US federal budget. Proposed strategies include Musk's 30% spending cut and Ramaswamy's plan to reduce the federal workforce by half. Currently, about 2.3 million civilians are employed by the government.

Billionaire Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy have been entrusted by President-elect Donald Trump to implement substantial cuts in the United States' $6 trillion federal budget. Musk aims for a 30% reduction in spending, while Ramaswamy proposes dismissing half of the federal workforce.

The U.S. government employs approximately 2.3 million civilian workers, maintaining its status as the country's largest employer. This workforce has increased by 7% since 2019 due to strategic hiring to manage infrastructure projects.

A large portion of the budget, $271 billion, was allocated to federal worker salaries and benefits in 2022. National security agencies employ around 70% of these workers, primarily outside of Washington, D.C.

(With inputs from agencies.)