House Speaker Mike Johnson has announced a plan to significantly reduce the size of the federal government by cutting 75% of all federal agencies with the help of Elon Musk’s outside commission, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Johnson aims to reduce the number of agencies from 428 to 99, with Musk having previously vowed to undertake this transformation.
Additionally, Johnson has expressed intentions to cut funding for PBS and Planned Parenthood. He believes this effort would help “take back control” from the administrative state, which he claims has had too much power in making rules that impact industries and small businesses. Johnson’s goal is to achieve dramatic change, with some of the work potentially carried out through executive orders from President-elect Donald Trump, leveraging his broad authority to enact these changes.
Musk, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, who will head DOGE, is meeting with lawmakers to discuss the plan. The pair is tasked with reducing government programs, firing federal workers, and cutting regulations. Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene will chair a new House Oversight subcommittee to oversee DOGE’s work.
The plan faces resistance, as many Americans depend on federal programs for jobs, healthcare, and security. The push to reduce the federal government has been a consistent goal of some Republicans, but it remains a contentious issue given the potential impact on essential services.
Ramaswamy and Musk have cited Supreme Court cases, like West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (2022), to argue that many federal regulations exceed the authority granted by Congress, justifying the proposed cuts.
