Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – which will be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy – is the talk of the town, but Wall Street is divided over President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to drastically curb government spending.
“A lot of bankers, they like to dance in the street because they’ve had years and years of persistent regulations, many of which have hindered credit,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said at a conference earlier this week. ”
“Traders are salivating — there’s a lot of money to be made from this wild volatility,” one longtime stock trader told The Post.
Others see no reason to celebrate.
recently linkedin postHedge fund billionaire and Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio – and former boss of Pennsylvania senator-elect David McCormick – said government cuts could result in the “elimination” of anyone not aligned with Trump’s vision and ” Far-right states” can be mirrored. 1930s.”
A banker who voted for Trump told The Post he doesn’t think DOGE is really doing much.
“People think Trump won’t actually make cuts because it will destroy jobs and reduce their numbers,”
Another source, who also voted for Trump, said he did not believe it was possible to undo decades of damage at this time.
When it comes to making a dent in the $36 trillion national debt, he told The Post, “this won’t move the needle.”
Proposed new department aims to Huge cut of 2 trillion dollars From the federal budget and hundreds of thousands of regulations by July 4, 2026 – the 250th anniversary of the United States.
DOGE’s bold ideas are already having big consequences.
Last Tuesday, shares of H&R Block and Intuit, which make TurboTax software, Drowned after report of one possible irs appCourtesy of DOGE.
Over the past few weeks, equity research analysts have scrambled to release reports on what DOGE will mean for clients.,
Financial firm Jefferies has warned that government contractors such as Booz Allen Hamilton and Leidos are “at risk” of serious cuts.
One hedge fund manager told The Post that he thinks DOGE will cause “huge downside” for Lockheed Martin and other contractors like Boeing. He summarized the sentiment he heard as “How do we shorten the Beltway?”
But, he believes that DOGE will be successful.
“The changes have to be big and it needs to work — Trump can’t find money for the tax cuts,” he said, noting that Trump would need to re-extend the 2017 tax cuts that were passed this year. The year is about to end.
Dimon is excited that impending deregulation could mean that potential mergers — such as those between Capital One and Discover, which have been in limbo since February — will finally be approved.
President Ronald Reagan tried to make drastic cuts Private sector survey on cost control in 1984, known as the Grace Commission. Some 2,478 cuts are estimated to save the government $424 billion were proposed over three years. Reagan promoted the plan saying it would help “drain the swamp” but the then Democratic Congress never implemented the suggested changes.
Sources say Ramaswamy and Musk are more likely to get cuts through the Republican-controlled Congress.
Although they would not hold an official role in the government, instead acting as outside advisors, they enlisted former advisers and even friends to help candidates for government roles such as the Office of Management and Budget. , who spoke on condition of anonymity. sources told The Post.
“Having the right person at OMB is critical — that’s the only way anything can get done,” a source told the Post.
These people will actually be able to implement Ramaswami and Musk’s recommended cuts to the federal budget.
DOGE has also captured the imagination of young bankers who potentially see being a part of it as a way to serve the country.
“This is the financial version of joining the military,” a rising bracket banker told The Post.
Another junior banking source said he has applied to join the “thin team of small-government warriors” – as Ramaswamy and Musk described it – because he believes they can “bring America back.” Lakar” can prevent the “end of the West”. Black.”
The attraction to DOGE underscores the keen interest in Trump’s presidency and what it could mean for Wall Street.
Industry leaders have already been more involved in this transformation than any other transformation in recent history.
Apollo CEO Mark Rowan, incoming Fed Chairman Kevin Wersh and hedge fund titan Scott Besant have recently met with Trump about roles in the administration.
Other prominent New Yorkers, such as Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick, hedge fund billionaire John Paulson and Blackstone Chairman Stephen Schwarzman, have worked closely with the president-elect — hosting fundraisers, quietly advising, and in Mr. Lutnick’s case, changes. And help in joining the cabinet.
But others in the finance sector are viewing it with a mix of pragmatism and opportunism.
A 50-year-old Manhattan-based skeptical trader believes it’s unlikely that anything will actually change or that DOGE budget cuts will “move the needle.”
But, he said, no matter what happens, “there’s money to be made somehow.”
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