Archive: https://archive.is/2025.03.12-190106/https://www.ft.com/content/6d938875-d9c8-47b1-9116-eef577d2cb98

Elon Musk’s hyperactive efficiency drive failed to prevent US federal spending rising to a record $603bn last month, new Treasury data has revealed, highlighting the Trump administration’s difficulty in cutting the size of government.

Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiencyclaims to have already made more than $100bn of savings but only a handful of departments registered any decreases in the first full month of the new administration.

Spending rose by $40bn compared with the same month last year on a like-for-like basis, a 7 per cent increase.