Elon Musk defends cost-cutting efforts in Oval Office appearance
Summary
“It’s not draconian or radical,” the billionaire said in a lengthy question-and-answer session alongside President Trump that sought to make the case for his Department of Government Efficiency.
WASHINGTON—Elon Musk defended his cost-cutting plans as a common-sense campaign to reel in out-of-control government spending, amid opposition from Democrats and legal challenges that have stalled some of his efforts.
Appearing alongside President Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday, the billionaire offered a lengthy explanation of his views on the federal government, and made the case for his Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk, wearing a black “Make America Great Again" hat, described federal workers as an “unelected, fourth, unconstitutional branch of government" that he said has “more power than any elected representative."
“It does not match the will of people. So it’s just something we’ve got to fix, and they’ve also got to address the deficit," he said.
Musk’s remarks came as Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday giving DOGE more authority to reduce the size of the federal workforce. The order directs agencies to restrict hiring to only essential positions, with some exceptions.
“It’s not optional for us to reduce the federal expenses," Musk said. “It’s essential. It’s essential for America to remain solvent as a country."
Musk compared the scrutiny he is facing to a “daily proctology exam." He said the public can make its own judgments about his potential conflicts of interest. Trump added that if the White House thought there was a lack of transparency or a conflict for Musk, then “we would not let him do that segment or look in that area."
Asked about the Trump administration’s false assertion that the federal government sent $50 million worth of condoms to Gaza, the billionaire acknowledged that he may at times promote erroneous information. “Some of the things that I say will be incorrect and should be corrected," Musk said. “Nobody is going to bat 1000."
In the weeks since Trump took office, DOGE staff have embedded at several federal agencies, reviewing government systems for excessive spending. In some cases, the Trump administration has slowed the work of agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
DOGE gained access to a Treasury Department payment system that sends trillions of dollars to Americans and businesses every year. Musk defended DOGE’s efforts to review the Treasury payment system as an example of instituting “common-sense controls."
“It’s not draconian or radical," Musk said. “I think it’s really just saying, ‘Let’s look at each of the expenditures,’ and say, ‘Is this actually in the best interest of the people?’"
A federal judge in New York on Saturday temporarily restricted DOGE’s access to the Treasury’s payment system. Judge Paul Engelmayer, an Obama appointee, set a hearing in the case for Friday.
During the Oval Office event on Tuesday, Trump criticized judges for blocking the administration’s efforts. “It seems hard to believe that judges want to try and stop us from looking for corruption, especially when we found hundreds of millions of dollars worth," Trump said.
The Trump administration has given most government workers the choice to either return to the office full-time or resign and get paid for the next eight months. Roughly 65,000 federal workers have opted to resign, according to an administration official. The White House has previously estimated that 5% to 10% of federal employees would accept the offer.
A federal judge in Massachusetts paused a deadline for federal employees to decide whether to accept the offer to resign.
Asked about Democratic criticism that Musk was orchestrating a hostile takeover of the government, the Tesla chief executive responded: “The people voted for major government reform, and that’s what people are going to get."
Musk said he speaks to Trump almost daily and checks with him and agency heads before making decisions. “There are sort of checks in place. So it’s not just us just going in and doing things willy-nilly."
Musk said the administration is resuming funding through the State Department for USAID programs that were focused on disease prevention. “We are moving fast, so we will make mistakes, but we also fix the mistakes very quickly," Musk said.
As another example of potential fraud, Musk said DOGE had found people receiving Social Security benefits who are 150 years old. Other Social Security payments have gone to people with no identifying information.
“We want to make sure that people who deserve to receive Social Security do receive it, and that they receive it quickly and accurately," he said.
Write to Tarini Parti at tarini.parti@wsj.com and Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com
