Elon Musk has drawn attention to his new initiative—focused on cutting government inefficiencies—by sharing a resurfaced video of former President Barack Obama discussing a nearly identical goal over a decade ago.
Posting on his platform X, Musk uploaded a clip from 2011 featuring Obama unveiling the “Campaign to Cut Waste,” an effort to eliminate unnecessary federal spending and improve accountability. Musk captioned the video with a brief comment: “Sounds exactly like DOGE,” referring to his recently announced Department of Government Efficiency.
In the clip, Obama discusses the need to make responsible cuts to outdated or unnecessary government programs. One notable example included the government’s continued funding of a website dedicated to a folk music group of forest rangers called the “Fiddlin’ Foresters.” Obama humorously remarked, “I’ll put their music on my iPod, but I’m not paying for their website.”
He also highlighted other examples, such as thousands of underused government websites and properties, including a large, empty warehouse in Brooklyn that had sat unused for years due to bureaucratic delays.
Obama emphasized that, just like American families must live within their means, the government should do the same—especially when it comes to waste that offers no clear public benefit.
Musk’s post appears to suggest that the goals behind his DOGE plan are not new, but rather a renewed push for ideas that have long been part of conversations about government reform. His move to bring the topic back into the spotlight has sparked renewed interest in how public funds are managed and whether modern tech-focused solutions could play a role in improving efficiency.
While Musk’s initiative is still taking shape, his message is clear: reducing wasteful spending is not a partisan issue, but a practical one that has been shared by leaders across time.
