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Elon Musk used a debut appearance in the Oval Office Tuesday to defend his aggressive campaign to overhaul the US federal government.
Musk, who sat alongside President Donald Trump, said that his methods were “not draconian or radical” and that his Department of Government Efficiency was taking a common-sense approach to limit what he sees as out-of-control spending.
Trump also outlined plans for “large-scale cuts” to government headcount and further empowered DOGE with an executive order granting it more authority to conduct layoffs in the workforce and saying federal agencies should only hire one person for every four they lose.
Musk described federal employees as an “unelected, fourth, unconstitutional branch of government” and defended the cuts, saying, “It’s essential for America to remain solvent as a country,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
It came after DOGE announced $900 million worth of cuts to the US Department of Education, targeting its research branch, and last week moved to dismantle the US Agency for International Development, with reports suggesting the workforce would be cut from 10,000 to 294.
Musk has been widely criticized for embedding his group of mostly young, inexperienced advisers — who are not a part of government — in federal agencies to review excessive spending. Several attempts to gain access to classified information have since been blocked by federal judges.
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Musk has repeatedly lashed out at judges who have hindered DOGE’s efforts, with his biggest target being US District Judge Paul Engelmayer, who temporarily blocked Musk from accessing some of the Treasury Department’s classified information. Musk wrote on X that Engelmayer was a “corrupt judge protecting corruption,” adding “he needs to be impeached NOW!”
Trump defended Musk at the Oval Office, saying: “It seems hard to believe that judges want to try and stop us from looking for corruption.”