Mitt spent a lot of time doing business turn-arounds and process improvement consulting. So have I. I'm pretty sure I know about how his mind works on such issues. Given what he's said, and what his natural instincts are, he will chop programs that do not return what they should, and he will go after waste in programs that do return what they should.
I'm old enough to remember that one of the big selling points of establishing the Department of Energy was to become energy independent. That was in 1976. We can see how well that has worked out.
You can pretty well bank that he will cut the EPA budget in half, dismantle the Department of Education, stop funding to National Public Radio plus Amtrak subsidies, National Endowment for the Arts, and National Endowment for the Humanities. The FDA has overreached and will be trimmed back, along with DHS.
He said very clearly that he would always ask the question, is this program so vital as to justify borrowing money from the Chinese to pay for it?
So I don't think there is much question about what he wants to cut. He's been pretty clear. In fact, he spells out his list at
his web site. 
