Will Trump and Elon Drain the Swamp in 2025?

Eliminating wasteful government offices is always controversial, especially since some federal workers will have vested interests in keeping those offices intact. Soon, however, President Donald Trump and Tesla founder Elon Musk will team up to “drain the swamp” of unnecessary federal employees.

Trump tapped Musk as a key advisor to his upcoming presidential administration, and selected Musk to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. There’s no relation to the cryptocurrency Doge Coin here, though it shouldn’t be too surprising if Trump and Musk, both pro-crypto advocates, eliminate roadblocks to the adoption of digital assets.

Trump and Musk probably won’t go so far as to “end the Fed” (Federal Reserve) or eliminate the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, Trump did vow to fire current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, a consistent opponent of cryptocurrency, and Gensler is expected to leave his SEC post in January.

Trump’s second term as president won’t start until January, but already Musk has a particular government entity in his crosshairs. In an X (formerly Twitter) posting, Musk called for the deletion of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB:

Courtesy: @elonmusk

Like Trump, Musk speaks his mind and doesn’t hold back. And like the President-elect, Musk often uses social media to voice his outlook and his intentions.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a name that makes it sound like an advocate for the people. However, the CFPB’s main activity under the Biden administration has been to sue and/or shut down financial technology (fintech) start-up businesses.

A former CFPB head, Mick Mulvaney, agrees with Musk that the agency should be eliminated. Much like Musk, Mulvaney feels that the CFPB creates a “duplicative layer of additional regulatory oversight.”

“To the extent we’re trying to bring efficiencies to the system – either letting the CFPB do what it was supposed to do and take that authority away from others, which is never going to happen, or shutting the CFPB – I’m all in for shutting the CFPB,” Mulvaney added.

Along with Musk, Trump also tapped former Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the DOGE. As you can see in the following X posting, Ramaswamy supports Musk’s intention to eliminate the CFPB:

Courtesy: @VivekGRamaswamy

Could eliminating the CFPB in 2025 kick off a wave of government agency cuts? It’s too early to make any informed predictions now, since Trump’s second term hasn’t even begun yet.

If there ever were a time to “drain the swamp,” though, 2025 will be perfect opportunity. After all, Trump will be president and Republicans will have a majority in Congress.

But then, there’s a diversity of opinions within the Republican Party, and it’s never easy to make broad-based government changes. Politicians will actually have to work to together to eliminate waste, and there will undoubtedly be opposition from special interests.

Meanwhile, investors may choose to adjust their portfolio strategies accordingly. If you’re over-invested in businesses that rely heavily on massive government spending and “protected” federal agencies, you still have a chance to move your money into different areas.

So, get ready for a changing of the guard and, potentially, a smaller federal government during the next four years. And if you’re a federal government employee with a job that doesn’t require much effort, now’s a good time to start looking for your next job position.