Elon Musk predicts that he can cut at least $2 trillion from the US federal budget, which is a lofty goal and requires an unprecedented level of fiscal austerity since the end of World War II.

This goal mentioned by Musk at a rally held in Madison Square Garden last Sunday exceeds the annual spending of Congress on government agencies, including defense. This may require substantial cuts to popular welfare programs such as social security, medical insurance, medical subsidies, and veteran benefits.

In short, easier said than done – even for the wealthiest person in the world. Trump has stated that if he wins a second term in the White House, he will appoint Musk to lead a government efficiency committee.

In the previous fiscal year, US government spending exceeded $6.75 trillion, with over $5.3 trillion used for debt interest, social security, medical care, defense, and veteran benefits. All of these are politically contentious and notoriously difficult to persuade Congress to cut.

Musk's own companies (including Tesla and SpaceX) hold federal contracts worth billions of dollars and benefit from government spending, including electric vehicle tax credits and infrastructure investments, further highlighting the difficulty of implementing a $2 trillion fiscal cut.

Trump's first term showed how challenging cutting expenses can be. His efforts to reduce spending on insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act ended in failure in the Senate, and many other proposals to cut domestic agency spending were rejected by Congress.

Trump ultimately agreed to significantly increase discretionary spending, leading to bipartisan agreements providing trillions of dollars in pandemic relief, but the deficit expanded as a result. However, Trump later stated that he would reduce spending by sequestering funds approved by Congress, challenging the law that limits the president's impoundment power established in 1974.

The closest to Musk's austerity policy is the budget proposed by Republican Senator Rand Paul, which would cut spending by 6% annually over five years until the U.S. budget is balanced.

The blueprint does not specify which projects will be cut. Last month, in a procedural vote of 56:39 in the Senate, it faced opposition from the Republican defense hawks, such as Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, and Susan Collins, the powerful chair of the Appropriations Committee.

If Trump's strategy of withholding funds fails, he will need Congress to support his spending reduction plan, and lawmakers are generally reluctant to pass on pain to their states and voters by cutting billions of dollars in projects sent to them.

In the Senate, cutting mandatory federal spending projects other than Social Security only requires a simple majority vote. However, it usually takes 60 votes to overcome the Senate's "filibuster" rule on annual spending bills, giving Democrats leverage to block significant cuts.

Internal discord within the Republican Party on spending levels and policies has also forced Republican leaders to repeatedly seek Democratic votes to keep the government open and extend the federal debt limit, which will need to be raised again next year.

Mysterious "whales" place another $2 million bet, Trump's winning odds soar to nearly 67%!

Trump's leading edge in the blockchain-based top gambling market is close to 67%, as a mysterious "whale" continues to bet on his victory in the presidential election to be held on November 5th. Polymarket data shows that as of October 28th, on the leading decentralized prediction market, Trump's chances of winning the election exceeded 66.3%. After a Polymarket "whale" placed a $2 million bet in USDC supporting Trump, his odds increased.

On October 28th, the blockchain intelligence company Lookonchain wrote in post X that since October 11th, this "whale" has spent $7.22 million to purchase 11.28 million shares of Trump winning the U.S. election "Yes" stocks, with an unrealized profit of $0.256 million.

Elon Musk stated that there are only seven days left until the 2024 USA presidential election, and decentralized prediction markets may provide more accurate forecasts than traditional polling systems.