WASHINGTON (TNND) — Elon Musk made an appearance in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump ahead of Trump signing new executive orders.
The Tesla billionaire addressed reporters for the first time amid his cost-cutting efforts across the federal government.
Musk, wearing a black Make America Great Again hat and joined by his son, X, addressed rising concerns from Democrats over Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts. DOGE has faced setbacks from the courts. A federal judge early Saturday blocked Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans.
The administration and some Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have defended Musk. Earlier Tuesday, Johnson said that the courts should “step back.”
“We’ve got a $2 trillion deficit, and if we don’t do something about this deficit, the country is going bankrupt,” Musk told reporters.
Musk argued there is a need for reform and called the federal bureaucracy the “unelected” fourth branch of government that “must be held accountable.”
Trump asked Musk to speak about the DOGE’s work. “If there’s not a good feedback loop from the people to the government and if you have rule of the bureaucrat, or if the bureaucracy is in charge, then what meaning does democracy actually have?” Musk said defending his team.
Tuesday was the first Musk faced questions since taking the lead on Trump’s mandate to dismantle federal agencies.
Trump signed the new executive order, “The President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative” Tuesday afternoon. It empowers Musk by ordering agencies to cooperate with DOGE.
According to the official document, the order’s purpose is to restore accountability to the American public.
This order commences a critical transformation of the Federal bureaucracy. By eliminating waste, bloat, and insularity, my Administration will empower American families, workers, taxpayers, and our system of Government itself, Trump wrote.
Editor’s Note: The Associate Press contributed to this report.
