President-elect Donald Trump promised to cut “hundreds of billions” in federal spending in 2025 after demanding Congress pass a short-term measure to fund the government that includes lifting the debt ceiling.
Trump said he didn’t want to have to raise the debt ceiling during his term.
“Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling,” the president-elect wrote on Truth Social.
He also promised significant cuts.
“The United States will cut Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in spending next year through Reconciliation!” Trump added.
That’s far less than the $2 trillion in cuts that Trump supporter and Department of Government Efficiency co-leader Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, previously suggested. Musk, who is among the richest people in the world, suggested he could trim $2 trillion from the U.S. budget. Experts have said that figure could be reachable, but was more likely to be accomplished over a decade rather than in a single year.
Ramaswamy and Musk have outlined their plans for DOGE, which will include significant reductions in federal regulations followed by mass federal layoffs.
Nicholas Bagley, a professor of law at The University of Michigan Law School, called Musk’s and co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy’s goals for DOGE unrealistic during a panel discussion hosted by The Federalist Society.
“It’s not an especially realistic approach to pruning the regulatory state,” Bagley said. “The problem is Musk and Ramaswamy are just wrong … The vast majority of regulations on the books are squarely within agencies authorities.”
Christopher Walker, a professor of law at The University of Michigan Law School, called DOGE’s goal a “great idea in theory.”
“I share some skepticism that this will actually work just because its new, its different and so far I haven’t seen enough details to give me confidence that they know how they’re going to navigate this,” Walker said.
Walker also said that the federal government has plenty of regulations that could be cut after operating for 40 years under the Chevron doctrine, a two-part framework from the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1984 decision in Chevron USA v. National Resources Defense Council. In that case, the high court said that courts resolving challenges to an agency’s interpretation of a statute should be deferential to administrative agencies. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron doctrine in June with its decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Gina Raimondo. Musk and Ramaswamy said they plan to use that decision as a guide in their work to cut regulations.
“I think that implicates a lot of regulations,” Walker said.
Outside groups have projected Trump’s campaign promises will add to the growing national debt. Trump’s plans could increase the debt by $7.50 trillion through 2035, according to the Committee for A Responsible Federal Budget’s analysis.
On the spending side, Trump has proposed extending and modifying the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; exempting overtime from taxes; exempting tips from taxes; ending taxation of Social Security benefits; lowering the corporate tax rate to 15% for domestic manufacturers; strengthening and modernizing the military; securing the border and deporting unauthorized immigrants; and enacting housing reforms, including credits for first-time homebuyers.
On the revenue side, Trump said he would establish a baseline tariff and add other tariffs; reverse energy and environmental policies and expand production; reduce waste, fraud and abuse; and get rid of the U.S. Department of Education and support school choice.
Trump’s campaign promises, if enacted, would increase the U.S. debt from between $1.45 trillion at the low end and $15.15 trillion, with a central estimate of $7.5 trillion, according to the analysis. Committee for A Responsible Federal Budget noted many uncertainties exist in the estimates.
