When two of US President Donald Trump’s top lieutenants issued a call to remove government spending from the nation’s most-watched gauge of economic growth, they waded into an old and fierce debate that goes far beyond statistics.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Monday questioned Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick over the access tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has to his competitors and business partners.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that government spending could be separated from gross domestic product reports in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick plans to make an internet infrastructure investment program “technology-neutral,” according to The Wall Street Journal, meaning Elon Musk’s Starlink could more easily benefit.
Howard Lutnick said Sunday that government spending could be separated from gross domestic product reports in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn.
Elon Musk’s Starlink could receive up to $20 billion in government funding if the Commerce Department goes ahead with plans to rip up the rule book on rural broadband contracts, according to the Wall Street Journal.