The Trump administration’s focus on reducing the size of the federal bureaucracy is a worthwhile effort. But its current plans for broad, indiscriminate cuts risk undermining critical government functions.

A more prudent approach would involve targeted reductions that address wasteful spending while bolstering high-value programs essential to national security, public health and economic stability.

Certain programs within the federal government are undeniably wasteful and merit reevaluation. A prominent example is NASA’s continued reliance on the Space Launch System for the Artemis moon landing program. That system, conceived in 2011, has already cost taxpayers $11.8 billion in development expenses, and each launch is projected to cost roughly $2 billion.

In comparison, Elon Musk's Starship, which aims to achieve full reusability, offers a starkly more economical alternative. Although recent Starship launches have cost an estimated $100 million each, Musk anticipates reducing this to as little as $10 million per launch. The stark contrast in costs highlights the inefficiency of relying on the Space Launch System when more cost-effective private-sector solutions are available. Transitioning to Starship or similar systems could save billions of dollars and exemplifies precisely the kind of efficiencies the Trump administration should prioritize.

Yet some areas of federal government activity actually demand increased funding to fulfill their missions effectively and, perhaps counterintuitively, to save money.

One such area is the fight against the opioid epidemic — specifically, the trafficking of synthetic opioids like fentanyl, which President-elect Donald Trump has strongly endorsed. Fentanyl, which is up to 50 times stronger than heroin, has fueled an alarming rise in overdose deaths in the U.S. To........

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