Elon Musk on "Somewhat Successful" DOGE: "If You Stop Money Going To Political Corruption, They Will Lash Out Big Time"

Real Clear Politics ^ | 10/12/25 | Ian Schwartz

[Eleutheria5]

Video.

In an interview on "The Katie Miller Pod," Elon Musk said DOGE, the Department of Governmental Efficiency, was a "somewhat successful" venture, but he wouldn't do it again.

KATIE MILLER: You are in the Roosevelt Room, if you remember this, getting sworn in, and they hand you a computer and a phone. I want to go back to what happened next. I think the story of DOGE, from your perspective, has never been told. What was your first thought on how DOGE was going to proceed?

ELON MUSK: Well, I guess I couldn't believe I was there, for the most part. It's like, it all seemed extremely surreal at the time. You know, Doge was a made-up name that had been made up, I don't know, two or three months before.

And based on internet suggestions. And I was going to call it the Government Efficiency Commission. And then someone on the internet said, no, it should be the Department of Government Efficiency, DOG. I'm like, that sounds great. So we just kind of made up a department.

MILLER: Do you think you were successful?

MUSK: We're a little bit successful. We were somewhat successful. I mean, we stopped a lot of funding for -- that really just made no sense. That was just entirely wasteful. Where, like, for example, there was like, probably 100, maybe 200 billion dollars worth of zombie payments per year.

Which simply by enforcing that there be a payment code and an explanation for the payment, that the payment would not go out. So we've made that change to the main treasury computer and a bunch of other computers. It's like, it seems like insanely obvious.

.....

[Eleutheria5]

I'm presently watching on Netflix the Death By Lightning miiniseries, about the assassination of James Garfield. That dealt in government corruption and political patronage lashing out big time against Garfield's attempts at reforming the government. His successor, Chester Arthur, had formerly been at the epicenter of that corruption, but apparently got religion shortly before Charlie Giteau, the "lone gunman," killed Garfield, so Arthur's administration apparently continued on Garfield's path and also established the naval base at Pearl Harbor. But I haven't gotten to Arthur's administration yet.

[READINABLUESTATE]

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4356930/posts

[Kudsman]

I guess the biggest single thing is that there are massive transfer payments going to illegal immigrants, like massive. Essentially, we're paying people to come here from somewhere else in vast numbers, including flying them in. So, like, it's not like you need a border wall if you're flying them in. Then fast tracking them to citizenship and making them beholden to government payments. And voting hard left. That's essentially, it's like voter importation.

And the GOP thinks playing pattycake with their "colleagues" is what? Smart? Gentlemanly?

Or more likely, collaborative.

[yldstrk]

Katie Miller is not the best interviewer. I wished she would let Elon answer the question before chiming in with her next disconnected question.

[yldstrk]

We just watched Death by Lightning on Netflix and found it fascinating. One of the daughters had never heard of James Garfield. All of us were in Bryson City, NC to take the grandkids on the Polar Express.

[Eleutheria5]

Selling the rope that will hang them, either way.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

Corruption is the rule now, not the exception.

[Polanski]

Trying to cut a dollar out of the big gov scam for illegals and fraud means you’ll die.

We knew that all along.

[Polanski]

Oh and say to boomers we’ll do a -5 Coda for 10 years to balance SS for future benefits.

The old boomers, no matter how GOP life long ‘conservatives’ will tie up their offspring into debt and go no freaking way. We earned all that ponzi.

Ask around here, ask any boomer if they’ll give up a dime. Nope

[sit-rep]

No... if you stop money and arrest those stealing money and the fkrs in prison then they won’t lash out at you. They’ll be in jail...

[caddie]

What's wrong here is the ubiquity of the corruption.

Musk and Big Balls can call it out with great success, but if the prosecutors and judges don't do their jobs, the whole process is WORSE than a waste of time.

As Elon states, you merely waken the sleeping corrupt actors and of cours they wake up PISSED. AND vindictive.

So Trump's reform movement is well-intentioned and has made some superficial progress. But the corrupt judiciary and pols are stopping forward motion. We need more of them imprisoned and/or impeached.

[bert]

Prison is but a temporary remedy.

[Eleutheria5]

IF.

[Eleutheria5]

Marion Barry was caught on video smoking crack with a hooker, did jail time, and then got reelected. James Garfield’s death caused enough true outrage that government reforms were passed and implemented by his VP Chester Arthur.

These days, I’ve seen how the evil leftards laughed and gloated at the death of Charlie Kirk. What they might do if their fondest wishes regarding Trump were to be carried out by some modern-day Guiteau, I don’t even want to imagine. But JDV is maybe a better man than even DJT. So their joy would be short-lived.

[bert]

-——James Garfield’s death-——

New York was then and presently still is anti American to the very bone. New York needs to be cleansed from the fabric of the Republic.

[Eleutheria5]

This is secession bass-ackwards. LOL.

[bert]

I have come to believe that since secession is illegal, the City States, providing the leadership to their states, have resigned from the union.

Rather than secede from the Union, they have just resigned.