Officially, however, Musk and Ramaswamy’s roles are only advisory. They will not be represented in the government and will instead send recommendations to the Trump White House until July 4, 2026.

Musk’s new political influence follows his campaign for Trump over the summer and fall. His super PAC, America PAC, spent more than $152 million to boost Trump and other Republicans, with much of the money coming from Musk and his friends, according to disclosure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Musk also hosted pro-Trump events in the swing state of Pennsylvania, turning X, which he owns, into a megaphone for pro-Trump views.

Ramaswamy, a former biotech executive, ran for president in the Republican primary and lost to Trump before later endorsing him.

Musk has repeatedly been confronted with questions about possible conflicts of interest when deliberating on the federal budget. SpaceX is a major federal contractor, including with the Department of Defense and NASA. And according to Ramaswamy, one of their potential targets is a $6.6 billion loan to electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive, a Tesla competitor. Musk has not said how or whether he plans to resolve these conflicts.

One lawmaker, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said Thursday that it was too early to predict priorities for cuts, but easing regulations through administration actions and through Congress would be a good start.

“There are currently tens of billions of dollars in regulatory relief on the table,” Tillis said.

According to the Peterson Foundation, the U.S. budget was $6.1 trillion in fiscal year 2023.

Still, Tillis called Thursday’s conversation an “organizational meeting” — comparable to “an engagement meeting I would have with a client.”

Speaking to reporters between meetings, Musk reiterated his support for eliminating tax credits to encourage sales of electric vehicles, echoing Republicans seeking cuts to clean energy funding.

“I think we should eliminate all credits,” he said in response to a reporter’s question about electric vehicle tax credits. (Musk has previously said that EV credits help Tesla’s competitors.)

Musk said little else as he walked the Capitol corridors with one of his children. The billionaire was followed so closely by Capitol Hill reporters that he said, “It’s like there’s a background press.”

Once DOGE is established, Musk and Ramaswamy will have a small office of 10 to 12 staff headed by the president that will work closely with the Office of Management and Budget, a source involved in the effort told NBC News.

They will also have individuals in every federal ministry and agency to serve as DOGE liaisons, the source said. To fill these roles, Musk and Ramaswamy are looking for people with a business background who are interested in “cutting through bureaucracy.” “Many of these people will be lawyers or have previous experience at this agency,” the source said.

Musk has shown a willingness to consider cuts to some of the federal government’s most popular programs, including Social Security. On Monday he shared on “Interesting thread,” Musk wrote.

On Thursday morning, Musk met with new Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., while Ramaswamy met separately behind closed doors with a group of 15 Senate Republicans for just over an hour. In the afternoon they met with a larger group of members of the House and Senate.

As senators left the meeting with Ramaswamy, they told NBC News it was a positive conversation and consisted of an “exchange of ideas,” like Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. , it expressed It. However, they would not reveal the specific policies discussed therein.

A source familiar with the afternoon’s private meeting told NBC News that the meeting turned into an “open mic session” where “grievances were aired by members of the House of Representatives who want Elon and Vivek to air all their issues.” solve”.

Some Democrats have expressed interest in working with Musk and Ramaswamy to reduce spending and regulations. Rep. Ro Khanna of California posted on X Thursday that Congress should model its efforts on a World War II-era committee led by then-Senator. Harry Truman.

“Let’s look to the Truman Committee and make sure Americans get their money’s worth on Defense Department spending,” he wrote.

While Republican efforts to shrink the size of the federal government and end wasteful spending are nothing new, senators haven’t said much about how these efforts could be different or potentially more successful.

“They’re way too far ahead,” Tillis said when asked about budget deficits.

As Ramaswamy left the meeting, he also refused to answer reporters’ questions.

In the 2024 elections, Republicans won a 53-vote Senate majority and a razor-thin 220-215 majority in the House. Those narrow margins could give Democrats some influence over the outcome, and some of them are deriding the new Musk-led initiative as a punchline.

“DOGE is not real. Just because someone says there is now a department for so-and-so doesn’t mean the actual department now exists,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., the ranking member of the Budget Committee.

“Republicans are total hypocrites when it comes to the deficit and debt. … Trump has contributed more to the national debt than any other president in American history,” Boyle continued. “So I’ve seen this movie before. I have absolutely no doubt that if Trump manages to pass a second round of tax cuts, the national debt will explode.”

Veterans of past failed debt reform efforts, including the 2011 Obama-era bipartisan “supercommittee,” doubt that DOGE will be more successful unless it is willing to take on sacred cows.

“If past is prologue, DOGE is poised for a steep rise. “It is not yet clear what authority or reach DOGE has, but managing the federal budget cannot be done through talking points,” said Zach Mallove, a lobbyist who worked as a policy adviser to Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., as she was co-chair of the supercommittee.

Mallove said lawmakers would have to endure some “political pain” for it to make sense. “Ultimately, the math just doesn’t add up: With a $1.7 trillion annual discretionary budget, you can’t save $2 trillion without tapping into the country’s social safety net.”