President Donald Trump created the advisory committee to help the government cut down on government waste. In November, Musk said DOGE will target to cut out $500 million in annual spending.
Musk had an original plan that DOGE would lop off $2 trillion in government spending and waste, though recently lowered his target, saying achieving half that would be an “epic outcome.”
While the advisory committee is already at the center of lawsuits for allegedly violating transparency laws, some Democrats have said they are excited to work with DOGE.
Warren is not a member of the DOGE committee in the Senate, but she did send a letter to Musk Thursday morning proposing 30 recommendations in an effort to eliminate $2 trillion in federal spending over the next 10 years, according to a copy of the letter obtained by TIME.
Her plans for DOGE largely reflect the policies she has prioritized for her entire political career, including changing how Department of Defense contracts are negotiated and reforming the Medicare Advantage insurance program, increasing funding for the Internal Revenue Service, and changing the tax code to close loopholes for corporations.
“In the interest of taking aggressive, bipartisan action to ensure sustainable spending, protect taxpayer dollars, curb abusive practices by giant corporations, and improve middle-class Americans’ quality of life,” Warren wrote to Musk, “I would be happy to work with you on these matters.”
Warren recommended adjusting how the DOD negotiates contracts in an effort to prevent “price gouging” by contractors. Her letter suggested that by renegotiating contracts, the DOD could preserve $200 billion. She pointed to a 2011 Inspector General report that found contractors were consistently hiking up prices for the military.
“There is a huge problem of the government being able to supervise these contractors carefully enough to be able to make sure we’re getting our money’s worth,” Don Kettl, an expert on government administration and former dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, told TIME.
Warren has long been a proponent of restructuring how Medicare Advantage operates. Nonpartisan analysts estimated that Medicaid Advantage overcharged taxpayers by more than $83 billion just last year.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
With Musk being the CEO of SpaceX, which has received billions of dollars in contracts from the United States, there is concern from Warren and others that his role as the head of DOGE could be a conflict of interest.
“Your broad point—that the federal government spends trillions of dollars on wasteful spending is correct,” Warren wrote in a letter to Musk. “And if you are serious about working together in good faith to cut government spending—in a way that does not harm the middle class—I have proposals for your consideration.”
