Just leaving the White House, Elon Musk urged DOGE to review the Fed's spending
Billionaire Elon Musk stated that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) should review the spending of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) for the renovation of its headquarters.
"After all, all this money is taxpayer money. I think we need to see if the Fed is really spending $2.5 billion on the interior design side," Musk said to reporters at the White House on Wednesday (May 1).
In a memo from November 2022, the Fed stated that costs for multi-year renovation plans for the central bank's headquarters, starting in 2021, had increased to $2.5 billion at a time when the U.S. economy faced the highest inflation in 40 years.
At that time, the Fed stated that material costs had risen beyond normal increases, labor costs were higher, and the implementation schedule was continuously changing.
Since DOGE was established at the beginning of this year, billionaire Musk has warned that the cost-cutting campaign could target the Fed as well.
"Every government agency must be completely transparent and accountable to the people," Musk wrote in a post on X in February. "No exceptions, including the Fed."
In comments from December of last year, Musk criticized the Fed's workforce as being "too large" and "unreasonably excessive."
In a press conference in February, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell dismissed that criticism. He stated that the Fed plans its budget very carefully. "We are accountable to the public for that, and we believe we can do it," the head of the central bank emphasized.
In a congressional hearing at the end of February, when asked whether the Fed has too many staff, Mr. Powell replied: "No. Everyone at the Fed works very hard."
In a conversation with Fox, Elon Musk stated that DOGE employees have no plans to slack off on the goal of cutting waste and government spending as the world's richest billionaire prepares to leave the Trump administration.
Musk stated that DOGE will remain a "long-term business" even after his special government employee status ends on May 30.
According to Foxbusiness