Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy had few good answers Thursday for how the new "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) will meet its lofty goals of slashing $2 trillion in spending during a buzzy meeting with GOP lawmakers.

In a session that included both House and Senate Republicans, the two businessmen appointed by President-elect Trump to lead DOGE heard plenty of suggestions on how to cut spending and government waste — including some ideas that have circulated among conservatives for years.

Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) described the meeting as a “listening session.”

“Probably half of them in there are really excited, and the other half know reality,” Miller said of those attending the meeting. His remarks alluded to doubts among Capitol Hill Republicans about DOGE’s ability to cut spending and radically reshape government.

Some members left the meeting highly skeptical that Musk and Ramaswamy will be able to get anything like $2 trillion in spending cuts through Congress.

“These guys are going to get their eyes open,” said one Republican lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak candidly, pointing to the razor-thin majority in the House and the problem of the filibuster in the Senate.

Republicans will have a 219-215 majority at the beginning of the new House session because of Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-Fla.) decision to leave Congress after winning reelection. That majority will then go down to 217-215 when two other........

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