White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt once again pushed back on media and Democrat complaints about President Donald Trump’s efforts to dramatically cut federal spending through recommendations made to him by Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk and his team.
Leavitt referenced past video clips of Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden all championing dramatic spending cuts, though only one of them — Clinton, along with a GOP-controlled Congress — managed to cut spending enough to balance the federal budget for a couple of years.
“To all of the Democrats who are planning to protest this week, here’s an explanation on DOGE, from your party’s own beloved leaders!” Leavitt posted on the X platform along with a video clip of Obama and Biden citing the need for cuts.
Separately, other X users posted video clips of Clinton introducing massive cuts to the federal workforce and overall spending, which amounted to trillions in savings and balanced budgets during his two terms.
The X account KanekoaTheGreat summarized the Clinton-era plan and its positive effects on the country:
Facing a ballooning deficit and mounting inefficiencies, Clinton announced an ambitious plan to slash wasteful spending, shrink bureaucracy, and rein in government overreach. He signed an executive order eliminating 100,000 federal jobs, a 12% cut in administrative costs, and the consolidation or termination of hundreds of outdated programs.
One of his biggest warnings? If wasteful spending wasn’t controlled, the federal deficit would soar to $650 billion per year by the early 2000s, with a growing share of tax dollars going toward interest payments on debt instead of public investment.
Fast forward to today. In 2024, the federal deficit stands at $1.83 trillion—nearly triple Clinton’s worst-case scenario. Interest on the debt alone has reached $880 billion, consuming an ever-larger portion of the national budget.
Clinton’s reforms worked during his presidency. The federal workforce shrank by 380,000 federal jobs—a 16% decrease. Programs were streamlined, waste was reduced, and deficits were brought under control.
In a column for the Washington Examiner, Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) chastised Democrats and their media allies now complaining about the Trump-Musk cost-cutting initiative, reminding them that their party was all in favor of streamlining government spending until the current president undertook the effort.
