Published at Open the Books Substack

When Elon Musk announced on a less-than-stellar Tesla earnings call that “starting probably next month, May, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly,” DOGE critics rejoiced.

 

Yet, as Teddy Roosevelt so aptly said, it’s not the critic who counts, but the person who enters the arena.

 

President Trump praised Musk at his cabinet meeting marking his first 100 days and said Musk “opened up a lot of eyes as to what could be done.” Trump signaled DOGE’s first act was coming to a close, and its second act was about to begin.

 

At Open the Books, we’re committed to transparency and helping taxpayers understand what DOGE has uncovered. Taxpayers deserve to know what cuts have been made and what remains to be done. Critics have raised concerns in both good and bad faith, in my view, and we’re committed to a reality-based conversation about the data and results.

 

I’m appreciative of Musk’s effort because I know first-hand what it’s like to be demonized for trying to downsize the modern administrative state. As the long-time Communications Director and co-author for the late U.S. Representative and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), I spent nearly 15 years in constant combat with people who treated commonsense restraint as a crime against humanity.

 

DOGE’s second act can succeed by focusing on two key priorities that build on lessons learned in a rapid-fire first hundred days.

 

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