Elon Announces Unexpected New Title at DOGE and Where He’s Focusing
Elon Musk recently announced his role as a “Volunteer IT Consultant” under President-elect Donald Trump,aimed at addressing the inefficiencies in federal government IT systems. Musk highlighted the poor condition of these systems, which he claims are unable to adequately verify payments, contributing to issues like fraud and misuse of funds. He emphasized the need for significant improvements to ensure accountability and proper auditing of taxpayer dollars, which are often mismanaged due to outdated technology. According to Musk, many federal IT systems are decades old and pose security risks, with ongoing costs exceeding 0 billion annually to maintain them. A 2023 report by the General Accounting Office confirmed these concerns, indicating that the U.S. government has not effectively modernized its systems, some of which are over 50 years old. Musk’s goal is to reform the infrastructure to enhance government operations and address the national deficit.
Fixing the basics is the first step to fixing government, Elon Musk wrote Monday in announcing his preferred title as he begins his work to repair the federal government.
Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are heading President-elect Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
In a post on X, Musk said the sad state of federal IT systems ensures inefficiency.
“The Federal government computers & software are in such bad shape that they often cannot verify that payments are not fraud, waste or abuse!” he wrote.
“That’s why the government can’t pass basic audits. They often LITERALLY don’t know where your tax dollars went. It’s insane,” he wrote.
Musk said his title is nothing grand.
The Federal government computers & software are in such bad shape that they often cannot verify that payments are not fraud, waste or abuse!
That’s why the government can’t pass basic audits. They often LITERALLY don’t know where your tax dollars went. It’s insane.
My preferred…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2024
“My preferred title in the new administration is Volunteer IT Consultant. Need to fix the IT infrastructure in order to make government work,” he wrote.
“This is a grind & hardly glorious, but we can’t make government efficient & fix the deficit if the computers don’t work.”
Musk also posted about a 2019 report saying 10 federal IT systems cost $337 million alone to operate and had known security vulnerabilities.
Some of the government software is over half a century old 🤯 pic.twitter.com/E3dJG7a1SW
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2024
The General Accounting Office updated that report in 2023.
“Each year, the U.S. government spends over $100 billion on information technology. Most of that will be used to operate and maintain existing systems, including aging — or ‘legacy’ — systems. These systems can be costly to maintain and vulnerable to hackers,” the GAO wrote.
It also noted that, as of May 2023, two of the 10 systems identified years ago, Department of Transportation and the Office of Personnel Management, had still not implemented changes.
The GAO report noted that as of 2019, one system used by a federal agency was 51 years old.
The updated report noted that as of 2019, “several of the federal government’s most critical legacy systems used outdated languages, had unsupported hardware and software, and were operating with known security vulnerabilities.”
The report also noted that the GAO had sent the Office of Management and Budget “guidance directing agencies to identify systems needing modernization.”
“While OMB had drafted such guidance, it has not yet been issued. Doing so would provide greater assurance that the risks of continuing to operate legacy systems are being addressed government-wide,” the report said.
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