Meet the Billionaires: Musk and Ramaswamy's Plan to Shrink Government

On Thursday, two big-name business leaders, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, met with Republican lawmakers. They're part of a new commission aimed at making the federal government leaner. The day started with Ramaswamy chatting with Senate Republicans about his ideas. He even suggested that some government employees might be getting paid too much. Senator Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee announced plans to freeze federal hiring and move agency headquarters out of Washington. In the afternoon, both Musk and Ramaswamy met with House and Senate Republicans. They wanted to hear ideas on how to reduce the deficit. Lawmakers seemed happy with the meetings, saying the two weren't there to tell them what to do. Instead, they listened and took notes. Musk, known for his companies Tesla and SpaceX, has been close to President Trump since his re-election. Ramaswamy, on the other hand, made his fortune in the biotech industry and is a big supporter of Trump. They're planning to work with Trump's budget office to cut down on regulations.House Speaker Mike Johnson praised Musk and Ramaswamy, calling them "disruptors" who could bring change to Washington. They met with other important lawmakers, but no specific cuts were discussed. Republicans are considering ways to take back money passed by Democrats in the past four years. However, some lawmakers worry that the new commission, called DOGE, might clash with Congress. There's a law from 1974 that stops the president from ignoring spending levels set by Congress. But some Republicans are open to the idea if it helps solve the spending problem. It's unclear if Musk and Ramaswamy can make real changes. Past presidents have had commissions that didn't do much. Democrats are also concerned about a conflict of interest, as Musk's companies get federal money. But some Democrats have shown interest in joining the DOGE Caucus.