President Ronald Reagan created the efficiency-minded Grace Commission in 1982, promising that it would “drain the swamp.” President Bill Clinton established the National Partnership for Reinventing Government in 1993 with the goal of making the government “work better, cost less, and get results Americans care about,” keeping it active until 1998.

President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk have big ambitions for making the federal government leaner and more efficient by reviewing its budget and operations from top to bottom.