GOP Senate Poised to Make Elon Musk's Dream Come True as Dems Face Financial Carnage

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) announced Sunday that Republicans are working toward slashing $2 trillion in federal spending as part of what’s being called the “big, beautiful bill” — a sweeping legislative effort to codify President Donald Trump’s economic agenda.

That figure lines up with findings from Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk recently reported to President Trump that his team has uncovered $160 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal budget that could be immediately rescinded.

President Trump responded optimistically, saying, “That number could be doubled and even tripled. A lot of things are being worked on that we don’t quite count yet, because it’s not there.”

Those savings, if enacted, would come through rescission legislation — emergency bills that cancel unused or unspent federal funds and return them to the Treasury.

As for long-term spending reform, the House passed a budget resolution last month calling for $1.5 trillion in cuts over the next decade. That stands in stark contrast to the Senate’s budget plan, which proposed only $4 billion in reductions.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune emphasized the need for more aggressive action after the House vote. “The Speaker [Mike Johnson] has talked about $1.5 trillion. We have a lot of United States senators who believe that is a minimum,” he said.

Speaking with Fox News Sunday host Maria Bartiromo, Barrasso was asked directly whether the Senate could match the House’s $1.5 trillion goal.

“I do,” Barrasso responded. “And, actually, our number’s a little higher than that of what we’d like to get to. The American people know the government is too big; it spends too much. They saw this list of things that have come out, the spending under the bloated budgets of the Biden administration for the last four years that have given us the highest inflation in 40 years.”

Barrasso noted that Republican senators on the Finance Committee have been reviewing federal expenditures since last summer, with the goal of achieving $2 trillion in cuts.

“Our aim is $2 trillion. I don’t know that we’re going to get there,” he said. “We’re going to match whatever the House is able to do. We need to get a bill past the House, past the Senate, and to the president’s desk, so we can make a difference in the lives of the American people and get this country back on track and get more money into their pockets.”

The collaboration between DOGE and GOP lawmakers marks a focused effort to reverse the fiscal path taken under former President Joe Biden, whose administration added $1.8 trillion to the deficit last year alone.

To put that into perspective: In fiscal year 2019, under President Trump’s first term, federal spending was $4.4 trillion, with a deficit just under $1 trillion. In contrast, 2023 saw $6.8 trillion in federal outlays — an increase of $2.4 trillion annually. While some of the rise is due to demographic shifts (such as aging Americans entering retirement), much of the spending comes from Biden-era legislation including the American Rescue Plan, the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPs Act, and the infrastructure law — many of which include multi-year spending commitments.

GOP leaders say reducing annual federal spending to around $5.5 trillion, coupled with robust tariff revenue and a strong, growing economy, could bring the U.S. within striking distance of a balanced budget.

If Barrasso’s $2 trillion target is met, it would mark one of the most significant fiscal course corrections in decades — and a key early victory for President Trump’s second term.