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Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has supporters in finance for his idea to create DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency.

“I would like to see government cut, but in a thoughtful way,” economist and senior fellow at the Independent Institute Judy Shelton told Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi on his Opening Bid podcast (video above; listen in below). “It’s not a matter of eliminating all regulations. It’s a matter of subjecting them to a cost-benefit analysis.”

“Maybe we have too many people doing things that don’t necessarily provide the service intended [by] the government,” she added. “I would like to see more efficiency in the government.”

Shelton is an economic advisor to the Trump administration, and was nominated unsuccessfully by the former president for a position at the Federal Reserve. In the past, she has also been critical of government bureaucracy and the power of the Federal Reserve over the economy and asset markets.

Assuming a Trump win, the new DOGE entity would oversee government efficiency and be headed up by Musk — who has thrown his support and dollars behind another Trump presidency. Trump has boasted the agency would “eliminate fraud and improper payments within six months.”

Notably, Musk agreed to take the job without a salary. “No pay, no title, no recognition is needed,” he shared on X.

Judy Shelton will be at Yahoo Finance's Invest conference in November. Register to attend here!

Musk has had the national deficit in his crosshairs for a while, with DOGE being his idea to get government spending under control. At the All-In summit earlier this year, he warned of the nation’s potential for bankruptcy, stating, “Everyone seems to be whistling past the graveyard on this one.”

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) pegs the federal budget deficit in fiscal year 2024 at $2 trillion. The deficit is seen growing to $2.8 trillion by 2034.

Noting that while past commissions looking to balance the budget and cut fraud have happened, Shelton said this DOGE would be unique.

“Musk may be ahead of all of us,” Shelton said of the idea. “It’s a harsh thing to do, but I also think that if you have layers of government bureaucracy that are impeding growth and making life difficult for entrepreneurs, I think you could benefit.”

To be sure, Musk has led his companies with an eye toward efficiency.

When Musk took over Twitter (now X) in 2022, the workforce stood at 7,800. Recent numbers suggest a reduction by 80% to 1,500 employees. This drastic chopping could be replicated where appropriate in the government, Musk reasons.

At Tesla, Musk has been in the middle of executing a workforce reduction of 10% as EV prices have cooled amid softer demand.

Three times each week, Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi fields insight-filled conversations and chats with the biggest names in business and markets on Opening Bid. You can find more episodes on our video hub or watch on your preferred streaming service.

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