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As Musk exits DOGE, a look back at previous efforts to cut waste, fraud and abuse – and how they fared
As Elon Musk steps away from his official role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he joins a history of presidential administrations that have attempted to streamline government—with mixed results.
While former Presidents Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and Grover Cleveland all tried to downsize the judiciary, treasury and civil service, respectively, it wasn’t until the 20th century that the federal government grew into the bureaucratic behemoth it is that has drawn true DOGE-type attention.
Though often seen as the bigger spenders, some Democrats joined Republicans in the 1990s to shrink the size of government and make it more accountable to taxpayers.
«We know big government does not have all the answers,» former President Bill Clinton said during his 1996 State of the Union.
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Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Lyndon Johnson, left to right. (Getty)
«We know there’s not a program for every problem. We have worked to give the American people a smaller, less bureaucratic government in Washington — and we have to give the American people one that lives within its means.»
«The era of big government is over,» he said, in a phrase that had largely been considered the closest emulation of DOGE thought until Musk arrived on the scene.
Clinton also sought welfare reform and emphasized personal responsibility over dependency on the state.
The Arkansan also called for slashing the bureaucracy by 200,000 jobs and worked with then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., to balance the federal budget.
President Donald Trump’s efforts to do the same have received a very different response from the left.
Clinton, working with congressional Republicans – while also frequently sparring with them — was able to reduce the federal workforce somewhat and establish a budget surplus but also failed to realize entitlement reform, something that more recent fiscal hawks have also struggled with.
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JFK, left, Robert McNamara, right. McNamara went on to also lead the Pentagon under President Johnson. (Bettmann/Getty)
Clinton won his 1992 upset as a centrist, after incumbent Republican George H.W. Bush was lambasted for reneging on his «Read my lips – no new taxes» pledge, with a statistical boost from industrialist independent H. Ross Perot, who won the votes of many erstwhile Bush supporters.
Clinton and then-Vice President Al Gore established a National Performance Review (NPR) that drew some parallels to today’s DOGE, and cut the bureaucracy to 1960s levels.
He went on to win reelection over otherwise popular GOP stalwart Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., in 1996.
In 1980, actor-turned-California Gov. Ronald Reagan took the White House with promises similar to another celebrity-turned-politician who would do the same 36 years later.
The Gipper did not succeed in abolishing the Department of Education – created only a few years prior by former President Jimmy Carter – something Trump has also sought.
But, he reinvigorated a new generation of conservatives who still praise him for slashing income taxes, seeking to «starve the beast» via forced discretionary-spending cuts, and took on public-sector unions when he essentially won a dare against Air Traffic Controllers who went on strike by firing them all and prohibiting their rehiring.
Reagan’s closest iteration of DOGE was the 1982 Grace Commission, studying cost-cutting and efficiency – and led by Maryland chemical executive J. Peter Grace along with dozens of «commissioners» plucked from the private sector.
In the executive order creating the Grace Commission, it was tasked with examining «the entire federal government for areas of inefficiency, mismanagement and waste, and to recommend savings without raising taxes or cutting essential services.»
Within its three-year lifespan, the commission reported $424 billion in savings, including waste, fraud, abuse, overpayments to government vendors and billions in unpaid taxes.
Reagan, however, faced the same resistance from the proverbial «Swamp» in trying to implement the commission’s findings.
«We’re not trying to hurt anyone. But the American taxpayer is being ripped off,» Grace said at the time.
While ushered in as a conservative pragmatist, Reagan’s later years saw budget deficits grow, and the national debt more than double. The Dow also lost nearly one-quarter of its value on «Black Monday,» Oct. 19, 1987.
The other contemporary president known for trying to «DOGE» government was Texas Democrat Lyndon Johnson. LBJ was known for rapidly expanding government through his «Great Society» social programs but also took aim at streamlining the Pentagon and Defense apparatus.
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Efforts at the Pentagon largely failed, as the ongoing Vietnam War also accentuated costly balance sheets.
Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, a Kennedy holdover and former Ford Motor Company chief, was employed to make changes at the Pentagon.
He instituted what was called the Planning Programming Budgeting System, which sought to bring a more streamlined approach to managing the Pentagon’s budget.
However, the vast size of the defense bureaucracy—along with resistance from some military leaders—undermined the effectiveness of Johnson’s and McNamara’s reform efforts.
Presidential,Executive,White House,Elon Musk,Presidential Deficit,Bill Clinton
La orden del ministro de Defensa
Un tanque del ejército de Israel, cerca de la frontera con Gaza, este miércoles. Foto: REUTERS Benjamin Netanyahu reúne a su gabinete de seguridad
Más muertos en un centro de distribución de comida
Camiones con ayuda humanitaria esperan para entrar a la Franja de Gaza por el cruce de Rafah, en la frontera con Egipto. Foto: AP INTERNACIONAL
‘Should have been prepared’: GOP senators fight for unified message on Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
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Now that the Senate has fled Washington until after Labor Day, Republicans finally have a chance to sell President Donald Trump’s «big, beautiful bill» to their constituents, but some fear that Democrats already have an advantage in the messaging war.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said that Republicans could «absolutely» do better in selling the colossal bill to combat Democrats’ «lies.»
«Well, we should have been prepared right off the bat and talked about, ‘No, we’re not talking about reforming Medicaid designed for [women, children and the elderly]. We’re looking at how we can save and preserve it and repair the damage done by the Obamacare addition to it,’» he told Fox News Digital. «We should have been talking about that, but we didn’t.»
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President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House on July 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Since Trump signed the bill into law, and throughout the entire process to get it to his desk, Democrats have largely been unified in their attacks against the bill, rebranding it as Republicans’ «big, ugly betrayal,» and targeting cuts to Medicaid, food assistance and a litany of other policies.
«It’s a very unpopular bill, so if I were them, I would probably go out and start trying to spin,» Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told Fox News Digital.
Messaging against the bill has become routine in Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s floor speeches, where he often targets the cuts to Medicaid touted by the GOP as reforms to a broken system.
«The more Americans learn about the Republicans’ bill, the more they are realizing that Donald Trump and Republicans sold them a raw deal,» the New York Democrat said in a floor speech last week. «The Republicans’ ‘big, ugly betrayal’ is one of the most devastating bills for Americans’ healthcare that we’ve ever seen.»
TRUMP TELLS SCHUMER TO ‘GO TO HELL’ OVER SENATE NOMINEE DEAL FUNDING DEMANDS AFTER NEGOTIATIONS COLLAPSE
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., turns to an aide during a news conference where he commented on Elon Musk’s criticism of President Donald Trump’s spending and tax bill, at the Capitol in Washington on June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Polling of the bill’s favorability among Americans is also working against Republicans. A Fox News poll conducted in June after the House GOP passed the legislation found that 59% of respondents opposed the bill.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., charged that «90% of the media is lying» about the bill, and countered that Republicans were actually increasing Medicaid spending faster than the rate of inflation «to the tune of $200 billion a year when it’s all said.»
«This is not the first message like this that we’ve struggled to get the truth through,» he told Fox News Digital.
«Republicans need to lean into it,» he continued. «We worked really hard, and we’re going to save and preserve Medicaid for those who need it the most. And we need to be sharing that.»
TAX CUTS, WORK REQUIREMENTS AND ASYLUM FEES: HERE’S WHAT’S INSIDE THE SENATE’S VERSION OF TRUMP’S BILL
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) arrives for a Senate Republican Caucus luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 2, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., contended that Republicans shouldn’t be shy about the work they put into the bill.
Hawley, shortly after the bill passed early last month, held an event in his home state pushing the bill. He, alongside former Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., lauded the bill’s inclusion of his Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which renewed and expanded compensation funding for people exposed to nuclear waste.
When asked if Republicans had gotten off to a slow start on selling the bill, he said that too much time had been devoted to talking «about Medicaid, for my own taste.»
«It’s less of that,» he said. «Talk about the tax cuts in this bill for working people, you know. I mean, that’s what people want. I mean, I was asked when I went home. I was asked immediately by people, ‘When are those no taxes on tips? When does that start?’ So, I mean, people are tracking it, but they’re tracking what’s for them.»
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And Sen. Tommy Tubberville, R-Ala., charged that Democrats had «zero credibility» when it came to bashing the GOP for cuts and reforms.
«We got a lot of time,» he told Fox News Digital. «There will be a lot of water underneath the bridge. You won’t hear about the ‘big, beautiful bill’ here in another year because there’s going to be a couple more big, beautiful bills.»
politics,senate,donald trump
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NATO member scrambles jets after Russian drone attack near border, as Witkoff meets with Putin
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Romania was forced to scramble F-16 jets after Russia carried out a strike just half a mile from the NATO nation’s territory.
The country’s Ministry of National Defense (MApN) confirmed in a post on X that Russia carried out a drone attack near its border.
«On the night of August 5-6, the Russian forces launched a massive drone attack on the civilian infrastructure in the Ismail area, Ukraine, in the vicinity of the border with Romania,» Romania’s defense ministry wrote in a post on X.
«The radar systems of the MApN detected air targets in Ukrainian space, close to Tulcea County. At 1:10a.m., the population in the north of the county was warned via RO-Alert,» the ministry added. RO-Alert is Romania’s official emergency warning system.
Flames and plumes of smoke in Ukraine seen from Romania as Russia continues the war. (East2West news)
NATO JETS SCRAMBLED AMID RUSSIA’S LARGEST DRONE ATTACK ON UKRAINE
The defense ministry stated that two F-16 fighter jets took off «to monitor the national airspace,» but no «unauthorized intrusions» were detected. The ministry said it would carry out checks in the area and keep NATO allies updated in real time.
The drones reportedly struck oil and gas pipelines at the Orlivka plant in Odesa, Ukraine. Bright orange flames and plumes of smoke were visible across the Danube River.
Nearby Lithuania has also suffered from Russia’s war on Ukraine. Drones from Putin ally Belarus crossed into its territory, according to Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kęstutis Budrys, who said he spoke with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
«These repeated incidents represent an alarming sign of the spillover of Russia’s aggression against [Ukraine] onto [NATO territory],» Budrys said of the incident. «We cannot compromise the security of our country and citizens, nor the integrity of NATO airspace. We must remain vigilant, as the threat is real and growing.»
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Moscow, Russia Aug. 6, 2025. (Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via Reuters)
RUSSIA LAUNCHED ITS LARGEST AERIAL ATTACK OF THE WAR, UKRAINE SAYS
This attack could signal that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not moving closer to reaching a ceasefire deal, despite President Donald Trump’s Friday deadline. It’s unclear whether Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s visit will push the Russian leader to move toward peace. However, if Moscow fails to make a deal by Friday, the U.S. will impose sanctions on Russia and potentially secondary tariffs.
Trump is reportedly putting pressure on Witkoff’s visit. One person close to the administration told the Financial Times that «if Witkoff comes back empty-handed, with absolutely nothing, Trump is going to go ballistic.»
President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, June 25, 2025. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
Witkoff reportedly spent about three hours at the Kremlin and, according to Russian investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, the «dialogue will prevail,» Reuters reported.
TRUMP CONFIRMS NUCLEAR SUBMARINES «IN THE REGION» AHEAD OF WITKOFF’S RUSSIA VISIT
Before setting the deadline, Trump reportedly spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about securing a deal that would end the brutal war more than three years after Russia’s invasion. Zelenskyy later confirmed the conversation took place, saying that the «key focus» was ending the war.
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«Today, we coordinated our positions – Ukraine and the United States. We exchanged assessments of the situation: The Russians have intensified the brutality of their attacks. President Trump is fully informed about Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities and communities,» Zelenskyy wrote on X.
East2West News contributed to this report.
russia,nato,ukraine,europe
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