With the savings from the cuts DOGE has suggested to USAID, Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., have proposed that $2 billion get reallocated to pay for outstanding repairs in state veterans’ homes.

After several months of cutting government contracts, grants, leases and workers, Elon Musk seems to be realizing what budget nerds have long known: His oft-repeated goal of cutting $1 trillion from the federal budget through executive action alone is extremely difficult.

DOGE has cut jobs at nearly every federal agency, canceled thousands of contracts and taken control of computer systems that run the government. As its leader, Musk has been a polarizing figure seen by many Republicans as an agent of cost cutting and efficiency and by Democrats as a blunt-force instrument hurting government services.