Brandon Bell | By Reuters
Johnson said entrepreneurs will discuss “major reform ideas to achieve regulatory deregulation, administrative reductions, and cost savings” with GOP lawmakers.
President-elect Donald Trump has named Musk and Ramaswamy co-chairs of a new external advisory commission called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. While details about the panel are still emerging, it appears likely that it will consult primarily with the White House Office of Management and Budget, which prepares the president’s annual budget request to Congress.
Musk and Ramaswamy have set ambitious goals for the plan, including massive cuts and layoffs in the federal workforce. Several federal agencies and regulators.
He wants to “end spending that is not authorized by Congress”. He wrote In a recent edition of the Wall Street Journal. He would also cut federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, several international organizations and women’s health care provider Planned Parenthood.
On Wednesday, Musk also proposed to the White House Should be “deleted”. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an independent agency.
However, the bulk of these proposals would require congressional approval, as the House controls the appropriation of federal funds to agencies.
Next week’s planning meeting is the latest indication that Republican leaders in Congress are taking Musk and Ramaswamy seriously.
Still, even the best efforts of Republican leaders in Congress may not be enough to enact many of these ideas.
With the results of a handful of House races due Wednesday, Johnson nonetheless remains on track to preside over one of the smallest majorities of any party in decades.
Given how widely dispersed the federal workforce is among the nation’s 435 congressional districts, the prospect of furloughing federal employees from a single district would be met with opposition from that district’s representatives in Congress.
Spokespeople for Johnson and Musk did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment on Wednesday.
Musk is the richest man in the world, and heads SpaceX, Tesla and social media platform X. Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur, is a former Republican candidate for president.