American entrepreneur Elon Musk believes that one of the key tasks of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) he heads is to ensure the implementation of all of President Donald Trump's decrees.
“I'm here to provide technical support to the president“, Musk said in a joint interview with Trump on Fox News, broadcast on Tuesday. “This is really, really important. Because the president signs executive orders that are very smart and very good for the country. But then they are not implemented“, he explained. “This has to stop. So one of the most important jobs of DOGE employees is to make sure that the president’s orders are actually carried out,” Musk said.
“This probably happens to all presidents“, Trump complained. “You sign an executive order and you think it’s done, but it’s not. The Republican admitted that the execution of his orders is being hampered by employees of US agencies appointed during the administration of Democrat Joe Biden, who was the previous US president.
“He takes the executive order that I sign and sends people to every agency“, Trump added, referring to Musk’s work as head of DOGE. According to the Republican, this allows him to ensure that American employees carry out all his orders.
Trump appointed Musk to head the new US agency for improving the efficiency of the US government to reduce the bloated state apparatus and fight bureaucracy (Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE). The American leader noted that DOGE “will provide external advice and guidance“ in cooperation with the White House. According to NBC News, the new structure will not be a full-fledged department in the federal government.
On January 24, the new agency reported that in the first 80 hours of work it had canceled government contracts considered unnecessary for about $ 420 million. In total, Musk expects to reduce US government spending by $2 trillion.
Trump said he would not allow Musk to participate in government projects if a conflict of interest was established, including in the field of space development.
„I told Elon that he could not do it if there was a conflict of interest. So, even if the project involves the space program, we will not allow Elon to be involved,“ Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, residence.
Earlier, the New York Times reported that employees of SpaceX and other Musk companies work for federal agencies that regulate his business and award multibillion-dollar contracts to his enterprises.
Meanwhile, Steve Bannon attacked Elon Musk in an interview with the British publication Unherd, published on Tuesday, criticizing the power that has been given to Elon Musk, reports Forbes, quoted by FOKUS.
Bannon calls the billionaire “a parasitic illegal immigrant“ - escalating the feud between one of President Donald Trump's key advisers and the former White House strategist and Senior Advisor to the President of the United States.
Bannon told Unherd that Musk "wants to impose his own weird ideas and play the role of God without respecting the history, values, or traditions of the country", adding that the efforts of Musk's Department of Government Efficiency are "performative" and suggesting that Trump is using Musk as a "war missile that delivers blunt blows to the administration".
Bannon described Musk as "a problem for the country" and said he had no problem with DOGE having access to government data because he trusted President Donald Trump.