WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – Tech mogul and presidential adviser Elon Musk renewed his call for legislation to be shorter, simpler, and more readable for the average American, a long-standing critique that would make it more difficult to hide controversial goals within bills presented for a different purpose.
Musk, the X and Tesla owner who also serves President Donald Trump in an unofficial capacity as leader of the non-governmental Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) advisory group, which will make recommendations for spending cuts, responded to a posting of a 2022 interview clip in which he had said that “laws need to be short enough so that everyone can read them. And it should be easier to get rid of a law than make one.”
“Laws should be long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be understandable by a normal person who is expected to follow them,” Musk reiterated on January 24.
Laws should be long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be understandable by a normal person who is expected to follow them https://t.co/OMvRE8mGLS
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 24, 2025
The call echoes a common objection against modern government in which proposed legislation often spans hundreds of pages and consists of intricate webs of references to other statutes and regulations, such that laymen cannot discern everything they do without lengthy research (if that), and even lawmakers themselves may not have the time to review their contents before voting to pass them.
One of the most notorious examples of recent years was former President Joe Biden’s so-called Inflation Reduction Act that clocked in at 755 pages and, despite its name, had little to do with reducing inflation but instead spent billions funding a broad range of unrelated left-wing causes, including the abortion industry, the enforcement activities of the Internal Revenue Service, and “green” energy initiatives.
Musk’s stance could put him at odds with Trump himself, who has called on the Republican-controlled Congress to pass much of his legislative agenda in “one powerful Bill that will bring our Country back,” spanning taxes, immigration, energy, and more. Some Republicans on Capitol Hill have suggested splitting the agenda into two bills.