Washington — Standing beside President Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Elon Musk defended the Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to drastically cut spending and dismiss workers across the federal government, insisting that Americans voted for major change and the Trump administration is delivering.
Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, took questions for the first time since the president gave him broad authority to overhaul the executive branch.
“The people voted for major government reform and that’s what the people are going to get,” Musk said, with his young son by his side. “They’re going to get what they voted for.”
Underscoring his support for Musk’s work, Mr. Trump signed an executive order requiring federal agency heads to coordinate with DOGE to shrink the size of the federal government. The order, according to a White House fact sheet, directs heads of agencies to “coordinate and consult with DOGE to shrink the size of the federal workforce and limit hiring to essential positions.”
Alex Brandon/AP
Musk said it’s “essential” that the federal government reduce spending, with interest on the debt accounting for a growing portion of the budget. The Trump administration and DOGE in particular are going agency by agency, seeking to slash workforces and programs.
The rapid downsizing and freezing of government programs, which Democrats call illegal, has run into widespread legal opposition in the courts, with dozens of lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of Musk and his team dismantling agencies and programs established by Congress. Judges have blocked the administration’s actions on a range of fronts, including by barring Musk’s team from gaining access to sensitive Treasury Department data and pausing a deadline for “deferred resignations” offered to federal workers.
Musk told reporters that federal workers need to be held accountable, calling the bureaucracy an “unelected” fourth branch of government. Musk’s own financial disclosure report will remain confidential.
Asked about any personal conflicts he has and whether he’s policing himself, Musk did not answer directly but said the DOGE website is explaining what it’s doing, an apparent reference to the group’s account on X, which details contracts that federal agencies have canceled. Pressed a second time, Musk said the public can question whether he’s benefiting from DOGE’s actions.
“You can see whether I’m doing something that’s benefitting one of my companies or not,” Musk said. “It’s totally obvious.”
Musk, whose web of companies have billions of dollars worth of contracts with the federal government, said he doesn’t think he’ll be able to get away with anything untoward.
“I’ll be scrutinized nonstop,” he said.
The president said if he thought Musk had a conflict of interest with some project, he wouldn’t let Musk proceed.
Mr. Trump was asked if he plans to abide by the courts’ decisions limiting his administration’s actions. Vice President JD Vance and other Trump allies have said the court’s had no role in constraining the executive branch’s legitimate authority, raising fears among Democrats that Mr. Trump could defy a court order and spark a constitutional crisis.
“Well, I always abide by the courts, and then I have to appeal it,” the president said, while questioning why a judge would want to block his agenda.
Musk recognized there could be errors, and acknowledged that “some of the things that I say will be incorrect,” referencing a false claim that the U.S. was planning to send tens of millions of dollars worth of condoms to Gaza.
“We are moving fast, so we will make mistakes, but we will fix the mistakes very quickly,” Musk said.
