Well-known economist Jeremy Siegel said this morning the market is optimistic about what the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk can accomplish.
“DOGE is exciting,” Siegel, WisdomTree’s senior economist, said on CNBC’s Squawk Box show. “I mean, actually, I think the market is looking very positively, and surprisingly, how much they think could be good done under Musk.” Siegel is also professor emeritus of finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.
Siegel also complimented Musk on his accomplishments at Tesla. “I mean, he had saved cost that virtually no one, no expert, thought was possible. … They gave him that mega pay package that they never thought they’d have to pay, and he made it.”
While there is excitement about what President Trump and Musk may accomplish on cutting government spending, Siegel noted a lot will depend on the net savings the administration can achieve.
“Trump wants to take taxes off of Social Security, off of tips. He talked about making the SALT deductions again, full. I mean, that’s trillions of dollars. So you need to come through on some other side … That’s going to be a tough nut to crack.”
But before the Trump administration can accomplish a lot of its goals, it will need to focus on getting a continuing resolution to fund the government and prevent a shutdown, Siegel said. The current stopgap funding measure expires March 14. Trump will need to get all the Republicans on board because all the Democrats will vote against it, Siegel added.
Also very important is whether proposed tariffs will be reimposed and at what level, he said.
After that, President Trump and the Republicans will need to push their omnibus bill that deals with border security, immigration and extending the 2017 tax cuts, Siegel added.
“I think the 2017 tax cuts by themselves is easy to get through,” Siegel said. “I think everything else is going to be harder, and that’s where the fight is going to be.”
