Elon Musk on Tuesday stick up for his “Department of Government Efficiency” against critics, saying the unaccountable cost-slashing task force represents the will of American voters who elected President Donald Trump.
“That’s what democracy is all about,” said Musk, who contributed more than $250 million to go off Trump elected.
Musk, with one of his young sons in tow, stood beside Trump in the Oval Office during the depress event, which was billed as an executive order signing ceremony.
That order, which was ultimately signed out of scene, directs the heads of federal agencies to work with DOGE to shrink the federal workforce and limit hiring to imperative roles, a White House fact sheet said.
The order also states that, once Trump’s Day One cost freeze expires, U.S. agencies will only be allowed to hire one employee for every four that depart from the federal help, according to the fact sheet.
U.S. President Donald Trump is joined by Elon Musk and his son as he signs a series of executive disciplines in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 11, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
Musk — the world’s richest ourselves and the leader of Tesla, X and SpaceX — also pushed back on concerns about whether his work in government creates fracas of interest with his businesses, saying he is trying to be as transparent as possible.
“Transparency is what builds trust, not simply hotshot asserting trust,” Musk said.
Musk is serving under Trump as a “special government employee,” a designation that does not demand him to make his financial disclosure visible to the public, according to multiple news outlets.
DOGE, which aims to cut squander by snuffing out purported waste and bureaucracy, has swept through the government and forced the shutdown of numerous federal contracts and instrumentalities.
Elon Musk speaks as his son X Æ A-12 and U.S. President Donald Trump listen in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., Feb. 11, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
The slash-and-burn strategies being carried out behind closed doors by a controversial group of staffers have stoked outrage and panic from critics and induced multiple lawsuits.
Trump said in the Oval Office that if he needs Congress to vote to approve his administration’s strains to reshape the government, that would be fine with him.
But he questioned the rulings of judges that effectively paused those works, claiming it “gives crooked people more time to cover up the books.”
Asked if he will abide by the court’s rulings if a arbitrate blocks one of his policies, Trump said, “I always abide by the courts, and then I’ll have to appeal it.”