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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: T24 1213 Elon Musk DOGE
HEADLINE: How 2 billionaires will cut government spending
TEASER: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will wield budget axes in 2025
PUBLISHED: 12/13/24 at 8am
BYLINE: Carolyn Presutti
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: Feeds
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Reifenrath, Sharon Shahid
VIDEO SOURCE (S): Reuters ,AFP, original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __X
TRT: 2:30
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TVR
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO))
He may be better known to the world as the father of Tesla and Space X, but in a few months, Elon Musk is expected to take aim at U.S. government spending. VOA’s senior Washington correspondent Carolyn Presutti explains what skills Musk brings to the advisory committee known as DOGE. [[Pronunciation: DOUGHJ one syllable]]
((NARRATOR))
((NATS TRUMP with elon at oct rally))
“Take over, Elon! Just take over!”
((NARRATOR))
Elon Musk, known as the brains behind SpaceX and Tesla, is “taking over” with an ax to government spending in a newly created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, [[[[Pronunciation: DOUGHJ one syllable]] which is also the name of a cryptocurrency inspired by a dog meme.
((Elon Musk, DOGE Co-Chair)) ((Mandatory Credit: C-SPAN))
“We are going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook.”
((NAT over WS at 2:35))
“ELON, ELON, ELON!”
((NARRATOR))
DOGE plans to cut two trillion dollars — about a third of the government budget — and three-fourths of government workers.
“The future is going to be AMAZING!”
((end courtesy))
((NARRATOR))
Musk, like Donald Trump when he first ran for president, has no government experience. But his companies Space X and Tesla have proven efficient, especially with the streamlining of the Tesla assembly line. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Musk moved his Tesla headquarters from California to Texas, blaming excessive state regulations and high costs.
((NAT of Musk Yelling))
((NARRATOR))
He and his DOGE co-chair, fellow billionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, are expected to mirror that process and eliminate many federal regulations. To reduce costs, DOGE will suggest closing some agencies and take steps to prompt mass resignations of federal workers by ending popular telework programs and moving some offices out of Washington.
[[RADIO TRACK: Steve Lenkart leads the union representing government workers]]
((Steve Lenkart, National Federation of Federal Employees))
“It's going to be a hard learning curve for him to understand that a president isn't a king — or at least is not supposed to be in this country — and that you're going to run against constitutional issues. You're going to run up against the law. You're going to run up against mandates of Congress.”
((NARRATOR))
((nat))
To that end, Musk and Ramaswamy this week visited Capitol Hill. Many lawmakers support DOGE’s stated goal of trimming government spending but would likely resist cuts that impact their constituents. Others know the men have a direct line to the president-elect. ((Mandatory Courtesy: JacobSafar/@YaakkovSafar.)) Musk and his mother celebrated Thanksgiving with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, ((Mandatory courtesy: Instagram bug + @vivekgramaswamy))
while Ramaswamy posted to Instagram his Thanksgiving beach reading on how to reduce the budget. ((end courtesy))
((Vivek Ramaswamy, DOGE Co-Chair))
‘I don't know if you've got to know Elon yet, but he doesn't bring a chisel. He brings a chainsaw. And we're going to be taking it to that bureaucracy.”
((NARRATOR))
DOGE was created as an outside advisory panel that will recommend cuts to the Trump administration and to Congress, which would have final authority over any decisions.
Neither Musk nor Ramaswamy will take a government salary.
Carolyn Presutti, VOA News.
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateDecember 13, 2024 08:08 EST
BylineCarolyn Presutti
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
