Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has voiced strong concerns about the future of DOGE, predicting it will lead to a “disastrous failure” that could deepen the US deficit. Speaking on the All-In Podcast, Summers remarked that while he acknowledges the need for greater efficiency in the US government, he worries that initiatives like DOGE may only complicate matters without addressing the underlying issues, such as the national debt.
“I think we need much more reform,” Summers stated, noting that Democrats have become too beholden to specific groups and have lost touch with mainstream American concerns. He expressed skepticism that the current administration’s focus on DOGE is effective, suggesting it disrupts American institutions and fails to tackle pressing issues.
Specifically, Summers criticized the White House’s recent actions targeting the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including workforce reductions and buyout offers to employees. He warned that such measures could result in revenue losses that overshadow any perceived savings from DOGE initiatives.
When discussing the implications of these cuts, he pointed out that the IRS plays a crucial role in auditing high-income individuals, emphasizing, “We are firing, en masse, people whose job it is to audit people like you.” Host Chamath Palihapitiya, who engages with the podcast conversations, countered by noting his own experiences with annual audits and suggesting that the government owed him money.
Summers, however, highlighted that a significant portion of individuals with incomes over $10 million are not audited, indicating that systemic issues exist within tax enforcement. He has previously criticized economic policies during the Trump administration, labeling certain tariff tactics as detrimental to the global economy.
A spokesperson for the White House did not provide a comment in response to Summers’ remarks.