The Aporia · DOGE Was Supposed to Save Money. It Did the Opposite. (w/ Max Stier)

DOGE Was Supposed to Save Money. It Did the Opposite. (w/ Max Stier)

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Charen, M. (2026, October 31). DOGE Was Supposed to Save Money. It Did the Opposite. (w/ Max Stier). The Bulwark. https://www.thebulwark.com/p/doge-was-supposed-to-save-money-it

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Quick Summary

Max Stier discusses on The Bulwark how Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative, intended to reduce government waste, actually resulted in potential taxpayer losses of over $160 billion while diminishing essential services. Mona Charen interviews Stier about the initiative's damaging effects and questions its true motivations beyond financial savings.

Written by AI on 2026-11-01, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Elon Musk's DOGE initiative aimed to reduce government waste but ended up costing taxpayers more than $160 billion, according to Max Stier of the Partnership for Public Service in a recent interview on The Bulwark. Despite its promises, DOGE made reckless cuts that severely compromised essential services. Stier discusses the extensive damage caused by these measures and questions whether Trump's true intention was ever to save money.

Written for “Dogecoin Fails Financial Goals” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

29%

2 of 7 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

Leans strongly left

expected in commentary, which argues a position · beta estimate

Publisher signals

not measured

these signals count newsroom corrections; Commentary has none to count

Outlets on this story

Economy/Business

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-11-01 · how these are computed

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Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Bulwark · 566 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected

No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Mona Charen

15 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Elon Musk’s DOGE promised to slash government waste, but its reckless cuts may have cost taxpayers more than $160 billion while gutting essential services.

2026-10-31 · mixed framing · DOGE Was Supposed to Save Money. It Did the Opposite. (w/ Max Stier)

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🔮 Mona Charen, JVL and the author Jon Grinspan will discuss the book with Bulwark+ members on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 1:30 p.m. ET.

2026-10-10 · assertive framing · Susan Glasser: Trump’s Most Loyal Supporters Are Abandoning Him

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Also by Mona Charen

Trump’s Reckless AI Policy Could Leave America Defenseless (w/ Francis Fukuyama)

2026-10-25 · The Bulwark

The Real Lessons of the French Riots

2026-10-21 · The Bulwark

Markets Are Sending Trump a Very Ominous Warning (w/ David Frum)

2026-10-18 · The Bulwark

Susan Glasser: Trump’s Most Loyal Supporters Are Abandoning Him

2026-10-10 · The Bulwark

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 15 articles by Mona Charen →

Topics

DOGE The Bulwark the Partnership for Public Service

Subjects

Max Stier PERSON · 3× DOGE ORG · 2× Elon Musk’s PERSON · 1× Mona Charen PERSON · 1× The Bulwark ORG · 1× Trump ORG · 1× the Partnership for Public Service ORG · 1×

Narrative

If you value long-form shows that resist the rush to the next topic and give deeply knowledgeable guests room to explain not just what is happening but why it matters, consider becoming a paid member of The Bulwark.

framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-01

🔮 Elon Musk’s DOGE promised to slash government waste, but its reckless cuts may have cost taxpayers more than $160 billion while gutting essential services.

2026-11-01 · The Bulwark

DOGE Was Supposed to Save Money. It Did the Opposite. (w/ Max Stier) · mixed framing

Claims (7 extracted, 2 hedged)

DOGE Was Supposed to Save Money. asserted

DOGE → suppose → Money

It Did the Opposite. asserted

It → do → Opposite

it → value → Bulwark

Your support gives us the freedom to keep making conversations with this kind of depth. asserted

support → give → depth

With a paid membership, you’ll gain unfettered access to ad-free and member-only editions like this one. asserted

you → gain → one

Elon Musk’s DOGE promised to slash government waste, but its reckless cuts may have cost taxpayers more than $160 billion while gutting essential services. uncertain

cuts → promise → services

Mona Charen talks with Max Stier of the Partnership for Public Service about the lasting damage, the staggering incompetence behind it, and why Trump’s real goal may have had nothing to do with saving money. uncertain

goal → talk → money