If the federal government were a company, it would be a sprawling conglomerate laden with redundancies, runaway costs, and zero accountability. For decades, Washington’s bureaucracy grew with little incentive to slim down, leaving taxpayers footing the bill for inefficiency.
President Donald Trump sees an opportunity to change that dynamic and save the American taxpayer money!
With the launch of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the enlistment of high-profile business leaders to run it, Trump is treating taxpayers like shareholders who deserve maximum value for their investment. And if DOGE is successful, it’ll be one of the best turnarounds in history.
Private-Sector Efficiency, Cutting Waste, and Demanding Accountability
President Trump’s creation of DOGE marks a bold fusion of business acumen with government reform — something those of us who’ve been in the private sector have been waiting to see from an administration. In fact, I’m not sure my generation has ever seen it pursued so aggressively by any administration.
Any successful turnaround effort begins with diagnosing where resources are being wasted. Here, Trump’s DOGE has a head start. The Government Accountability Office’s latest audit of federal programs identified 38 areas “seriously vulnerable to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement or that are in need of transformation.” In fact, in the past two years, the GAO’s recommendations have already yielded $84 billion in savings for the government – evidence that there is plenty of fat to trim.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has called this report a “roadmap” for Trump and DOGE to tackle the “runaway bureaucracy,” and also noted that Americans are tired of seeing federal programs “squander taxpayer funds” and demand action.
That is exactly what DOGE promises to deliver.
And it seems they’re well on the way. According to a White House fact sheet, the new department has already identified “billions in waste, fraud, and abuse” in its early reviews of agencies. Each of those dollars represents potential taxpayer savings and an opportunity to refocus spending on programs that actually work.
A Turnaround Playbook: Restructure, Cut, and Streamline
Identifying waste, however, is only half the battle—transforming government demands decisive action. And the DOGE initiative openly draws on turnaround principles often seen in private equity restructurings.
When a company is bloated and uncompetitive, new management will aggressively cut costs, consolidate overlapping divisions, shed non-essential activities, and bring in new leaders. Trump’s orders to federal agencies mirror this playbook. In other words, the shareholders (citizens) expect a turnaround, and management is prepared to make hard decisions to achieve it.
It’s a shock therapy approach, to be sure, but it echoes how a new CEO — like Elon Musk, who Trump has tapped to lead DOGE — might shake up a complacent corporate culture: no assumption is sacred, no cost beyond scrutiny.
Toward a Leaner, Sharper Government
Restructuring a bureaucracy as massive as the U.S. government will not be a gentle process, but as any seasoned business leader knows, turning around a bloated organization rarely is. The key is to ensure the pain has a purpose and yields a stronger entity on the other side.
President Trump’s DOGE initiative is rooted in that very principle: short-term disruptions for long-term gains in performance. It posits that a government run with an eye toward efficiency, accountability, and results will ultimately better serve its customers (the public) and honor its investors (the taxpayers).
Critics will argue that aggressive cuts risk eroding public services or demoralizing the civil service. But Trump and his DOGE team are betting that the fat can be slashed without touching the muscle of the government. In their view, America has overgrown its government relative to what’s actually required to get the job done. And just as a successful business turnaround can restore a company’s health, a successful DOGE reform can revitalize federal institutions.
Trump’s penchant for bold goals – calling DOGE the “Manhattan Project” of our time – might have sounded like hyperbole at first, but it reflects the sweeping scope of this effort. DOGE has marshaled brilliant innovators to overhaul a calcified bureaucracy in a few short years.
The ultimate test of Trump’s DOGE will be whether a slimmer government can still deliver (or even improve) essential services and results. The early signs are promising: waste is being identified and axed, and agencies are re-focusing on their core missions.
Should DOGE achieve even a fraction of its lofty goals, it will stand as a testament to what a little private-sector thinking can do in the public sector. In the process, Trump will have proven that running the government more like a business – with an eye on efficiency, accountability, innovation, and return on investment – is not just rhetoric but a viable recipe for better governance. And that is a result every American, regardless of politics, can welcome and applaud.
Jean-Pierre Conte is an American businessman, philanthropist, and policy advocate.
DOGE is finding billions of dollars in wasteful spending, and the Democrats are losing their minds as they realize their gravy train and woke projects are coming to an end.
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