Trump’s First 100 Days: Record Spending, Bold Moves, and a New Department Called DOGE?
It was supposed to be the era of fiscal reckoning—a return to “common sense” government spending, according to Donald Trump. But just 100 days into his comeback presidency, a very different story is unfolding. And it’s not sitting well with taxpayers.
Despite pledges to slash federal expenses and eliminate “financial bloat,” Trump’s early days in office have seen a stunning $220 billion spike in spending—far outpacing the same stretch during President Biden’s last term. In fact, it’s the highest spending level since the COVID stimulus era, raising questions about where the money is really going—and why.
Among Trump’s more headline-grabbing decisions? An executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America”, a surprise move to dismantle the Department of Education, and the appointment of none other than Elon Musk to lead a new federal entity: the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE (yes, really).
DOGE claims to have “saved” over $170 billion through aggressive cost-cutting: axing grants, voiding federal leases, liquidating unused properties, and even pausing regulations it deems “non-essential.” But those numbers? They’re unverified—and critics say they’re being used to distract from a much larger truth: overall government spending has surged.
Medicare and Social Security alone saw a $37 billion bump, with additional spending climbs across Defense, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and Agriculture. Even with talk of “streamlining,” the Trump administration’s spending footprint is the largest non-crisis surge in recent history.
Online, reactions have been swift and biting. “So much for draining the swamp,” wrote one commenter. Another posted: “Trump said he’d shrink government. Instead, he renamed the ocean and gave Elon Musk a badge.”
Conclusion:
Trump’s highly anticipated return to the Oval Office has thus far delivered a mix of spectacle and spending—a combination that’s left Americans more puzzled than reassured. While the creation of DOGE and the scrapping of long-standing departments were meant to signal a new era of efficiency, the math tells another story: historic spending, controversial reshuffling, and more questions than answers. For a presidency that promised austerity, the first 100 days look a lot more like a financial expansion—with Elon Musk and renamed oceans included.