A recent social media post has reignited conversation around government efficiency efforts, after a business leader shared a historical clip highlighting similarities between two public sector reform initiatives.
The post, shared on the social platform X, included a video clip from 2011 that featured a prominent government official announcing a campaign to cut unnecessary federal spending. The video focused on eliminating wasteful programs and consolidating resources, using both humor and specific examples to underline the initiative’s goals.
The business executive, who recently launched a new effort aimed at streamlining public sector operations—dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—highlighted the parallels between the two plans. In the caption accompanying the video, they remarked on the near-identical objectives of reducing inefficiency and eliminating outdated or underused federal assets.
The older video featured an address where the official pointed to examples such as redundant websites and unused federal properties. One highlighted case involved a music group website funded by federal dollars, despite limited relevance or public interest. Another example included a long-abandoned government warehouse in a major U.S. city, which had remained unused for over a decade while continuing to incur costs.