Musk and Ramaswamy are betting that the Supreme Court will allow Trump to make unilateral spending cuts

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, two billionaires appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to oversee the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), say they will rely on recent Supreme Court rulings to support the unilateral cut of federal authorities and the abolition of existing regulations.

In an editorial published Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal, the two MAGA businessmen pointed to two particular rulings that they said would prove particularly helpful. In 2022, the court found that federal agencies cannot address “big questions” with broad economic or social impacts without express authorization from Congress. Later that year, the Supreme Court overturned its own precedent that had required courts to defer to an agency’s interpretation of ambiguous laws.

Both decisions have given courts the power to intervene in federal policy and overturn Biden administration rules they say are excessive, including student loan forgiveness and an increase in overtime pay. Now that Musk, Ramaswamy and their allies are at the helm of the executive branch, they believe the courts will support rolling back thousands of other policies, amounting to around $500 billion in cuts.

Programs on the chopping block include the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and international aid and money for Planned Parenthood.

Some legal experts say their trust is misplaced. William Buzbee, a professor at Georgetown Law School, told Reuters that the Musk-Ramaswamy interpretation of the recent cases was “very confusing” and that while Trump had the ability to ask authorities to take “loose” enforcement measures, he did not have the power to override the court’s decisions restrict the powers of federal authorities as much as Musk and Ramaswamy want it.

But even partial realization of their plans could significantly disrupt government services critical to a functioning society, especially if they end up laying off or retiring federal workers en masse. Musk has admitted this and suggested that Americans must suffer immediate “hardship” in exchange for long-term prosperity.