(The Hill) — President Trump suggested in a new post that tech billionaire Elon Musk, one of his closest allies, needs to be “more aggressive” — presumably referring to his efforts to slash spending, downsize the federal workforce and eviscerate fraud via the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE,” Trump wrote Saturday in a post on Truth Social. “REMEMBER, WE HAVE A COUNTRY TO SAVE, BUT ULTIMATELY, TO MAKE GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. MAGA!”
Musk, who leads six major companies, and DOGE staffers have gone after several federal agencies over the past month looking to overhaul the federal workforce — including initiatives that would nearly dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Education Department. The commission said earlier this week that it saved the government $55 billion by canceling grants, selling assets, reducing teams and by axing contracts and leases.
The Trump administration has offered buyouts to many civil service workers. So far, more than 75,000 government employees have accepted the offer.
DOGE has been under fire from Democrats and various organizations for the actions it’s taken during the president’s first month back in office. Critics have urged the advisory board to shed more transparency into their conduct.
The group has faced lawsuits, with 14 states saying the board’s cuts are unconstitutional, and others questioning the commission’s access to payment systems at the Treasury Department, which has since been blocked.
Musk’s influence over the administration has also been under the microscope, with many citing his potential conflicts of interest.
Trump has consistently defended Musk, whom he recently called a “patriot.”
“I’m just hearing about it and if there is … obviously I will not let there be any conflict of interest. He’s done an amazing job,” he said earlier this week. “I told Elon, any conflicts you can’t have anything to do with that. So, anything to do with possibly even space, we won’t let Elon partake in that.”
The president and White House have also suggested Musk is not actually part of DOGE. Instead, he is considered a senior adviser to Trump and a “White House Office” employee, a court filing from the White House Office of Administration shows.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has “has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself,” Joshua Fisher, the director of the office, wrote.
Musk defended DOGE’s work during a briefing alongside Trump earlier this month, emphasizing that voters “voted for major government reform and that’s what the people are going to get.”
Trump lauded the tech entrepreneur in early February for doing a “very good job” and predicted that DOGE’s aides would discover more fraud and waste within the government.
“He’s got a staff that’s fantastic, he’s wanted to be able to do this for a long time,” the president said. “I think we’re going to be very close to balancing budgets for the first time for many years.”
