On the question of whether Musk has cuts in defense spending on his agenda, Trump responds:
I have instructed him to review education, to review the Pentagon, which is the military. And you know, unfortunately, you will find some things that are pretty bad, says Trump to reporters at the White House.
Musk has recently caused a stir after gaining full access to the Department of Finance's payment system. With full access to the systems, Musk and his team would be able to stop any payments they want, according to economists, and gain access to sensitive information. The Justice Department later announced that it had agreed to temporarily restrict Musk's access to the systems.
Doge (Department of Government Efficiency) was announced in November 2024, shortly after Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.
Trump then stated that Doge would pave the way for "abolishing state bureaucracy, drastically reducing unnecessary regulations, cutting back on wasteful spending, and restructuring federal authorities".
Doge is led by the South African-born super entrepreneur Elon Musk, CEO of, among others, X, Space X, and Tesla, and according to Forbes, the world's richest person.
