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Elizabeth Warren pens Fox News op-ed revealing she agrees with Trump and Musk on one thing

The Democratic senator said she is ‘ready to work with Musk’ but he might not like her suggestions

Rhian Lubin
in New York
Tuesday 28 January 2025 09:15 EST
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Related video: John Bolton issues Trump warning to Elon Musk

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Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has written an op-ed for Fox News about one “important” thing she agrees with President Donald Trump and Elon Musk on.

Warren shared that she agrees with the cost-cutting aims of the Department of Government Efficiency — but not the government programs Musk and Republicans are eyeing as potential targets.

The Massachusetts senator said she is “ready to work with Musk” to make the government “more efficient” while saving the taxpayer money.

“Here’s something President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and I agree on: the federal government throws away trillions of dollars on wasteful spending,” she wrote in the op-ed. “I have spent years trying to squeeze government waste out of our budget.”

But Musk is unlikely to listen to Warren’s blueprint for cost-saving measures because her plan targets “billionaires and billionaire corporations who are feasting off the American taxpayer.”

Dem Senator Elizabeth Warren agrees with Trump and Musk that the government needs to tackle wasteful spending
Dem Senator Elizabeth Warren agrees with Trump and Musk that the government needs to tackle wasteful spending (EPA)

House Republicans have previously suggested DOGE focus on Social Security and Medicare to cut costs. “Scrapping essential services is not efficiency; it is cold-hearted cruelty,” Warren said.

Warren claims her 30 specific proposals for Musk to consider could save the government $2 trillion.

The senator also claims that her recommendations on cutting defense spending alone would save nearly $12 billion in the next 12 years, citing the government being overcharged on everything from military contracts to soap dispensers and pins.

One of Warren’s suggestions Musk is likely to ignore is to make millionaires and billionaires “pay their fair share.”

“Hedge funds and private equity companies use loopholes to use loopholes to avoid paying anywhere between $1.4 billion and $18 billion each year — that’s an easy fix,” Warren wrote. “By closing just one big estate tax exemption loophole abused by the ultra-rich, the US government could government could save another $60 billion per year.”

Last week, Warren wrote a 21-page letter to Musk with more details of the proposals where she also complained that she has “very serious concerns” about DOGE.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat from Massachusetts, branded DOGE as ‘a venue for corruption’
US Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat from Massachusetts, branded DOGE as ‘a venue for corruption’ (AFP via Getty Images)

“It is not clear that you and other DOGE leaders are able to identify and mitigate your conflicts of interest and adhere to common-sense ethics standards,” Warren wrote.

“The committee appears to be a venue for corruption, allowing well-connected billionaires to put government policies in place that enrich them while hurting ordinary Americans.”

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.

The newly formed DOGE has already seen a string of departures, including Musk’s former “co-lead” Vivek Ramaswamy, the biotech entrepreneur turned failed presidential candidate.

Ramaswamy reportedly backed away due to “deep philosophical differences” over how the advisory board should function.

The two also battled over who the true leader of DOGE was, The Washington Post reported, given Musk’s large presence. Sources told the outlet the partnership was probably doomed from the start.

A top lawyer also announced he is leaving just days after Ramaswamy’s departure.

Bill McGinley, a partner at law firm Holtzman Vogel who served as cabinet secretary during Trump’s first term, was appointed as DOGE’s legal counsel by the president in December and confirmed he was stepping down last week.

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