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The Department of Government Efficiency has so far trimmed $8.5 billion from federal

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contracts — a sliver of the government's total spending.

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The federal government now holds equity stakes in more than a dozen private

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companies — MP Materials at 15 percent, Intel at 10 percent, Trilogy Metals at 10

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percent, Lithium Americas at 5 percent, Korea Zinc at 10 percent — a portfolio

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critics call "Republican socialism.

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The watchdog concluded that DOGE's headline figure of $110 billion in taxpayer

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savings is vastly inflated, while its verified contract cuts total just $8.5 billion

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— and the unit operates with minimal public disclosure.

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The post-2008 TARP program set the precedent: Congress authorized $700 billion,

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Treasury disbursed $443.5 billion, and the government took equity stakes in banks to

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stabilize the system.

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Today's mineral and chip stakes are framed as long-term industrial policy, not

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temporary crisis response.

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The Congressional Budget Office reports FY2025 outlays of $7.010 trillion and a

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deficit of $1.775 trillion, with FY2026 projected outlays of $7.449 trillion and a

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deficit of $1.853 trillion — debt held by the public reaching 100.6 percent of GDP.

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Conservatives argue that these equity positions are temporary, purpose-driven

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stabilizers — but even conservative outlets like Reason and National Review warn

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that government ownership, once begun, tends to expand.

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If you believe the public deserves a clear, auditable ledger of every dollar the

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government invests in private enterprises, contact your representatives and demand

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quarterly, machine-readable disclosures of all federal equity stakes — so the debate

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can be fought with facts, not slogans.

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Total runtime ≈ 14 minutes (840 seconds).