Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead an advisory committee to cut federal spending and regulations. But how will it handle conflicts of interest?

There's a chance the Department of Government Efficiency's plans could lead to the deepest cuts to the federal government in generations.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk and conservative activist Vivek Ramaswamy on Thursday began in-person discussions with congressional Republicans about ways they could slash federal spending and regulations once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

The unit had claimed to cut tens of billions of dollars in federal spending, but outside analysts were unable to verify those figures because DOGE did not release a detailed public accounting of its activities.

Trump administration officials clarify that Department of Government Efficiency principles remain active in federal agencies despite reports that the centralized DOGE office no longer exists.