In an appearance at President Trump’s Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, tech billionaire and DOGE team leader Elon Musk outlined his team’s mission to modernize the federal government’s outdated computer systems and help address the nation’s staggering $2 trillion deficit.
Musk, who has faced both praise and criticism for his unconventional approach to government reform, described the DOGE team as “tech support” for the federal government, tasked with identifying waste, fraud, and inefficiencies in its operations.
“Many of these [government] systems are extremely old. They don’t communicate. There are a lot of mistakes in the systems; the software doesn’t work,” Musk said during the meeting. “So, we are actually tech support. It’s ironic, but it’s true.”
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Musk emphasized that the DOGE team’s primary goal is to help the federal government achieve $1 trillion in savings by addressing inefficiencies and reducing waste.
He warned that the U.S. is on an unsustainable fiscal path, with interest payments on the national debt now exceeding defense spending. “If this continues, the country will become de facto bankrupt,” Musk said. “It’s not an optional thing. It is an essential thing.”
To achieve these savings, Musk said the DOGE team is working to identify and eliminate wasteful spending across federal agencies. He highlighted the team’s transparency, noting that all findings are publicly available on doge.gov. “We bring the receipts,” Musk said. “We specify each item so people can see exactly where the savings are coming from.”
Musk also acknowledged that mistakes are inevitable but promised quick corrections. He cited an example where the team accidentally canceled funding for Ebola prevention programs but reinstated it immediately after realizing the error. “We won’t be perfect, but when we make a mistake, we’ll fix it very quickly,” he said.
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Musk also addressed a recent initiative to evaluate federal employees’ productivity, which involved sending an email asking employees to describe their work over the past week. He framed the effort as a “pulse check” to determine whether employees are actively contributing to their agencies’ missions.
“Do you have a pulse and two neurons? If you’re a person with two neurons, you can reply to an email,” Musk quipped.
He revealed that the DOGE team is investigating cases of “fictional” employees and individuals who may be deceased but remain on the payroll.
“We’re literally trying to figure out: Are these people real? Are they alive? And can they write an email?” Musk said. “I think it’s a reasonable expectation for the American public.”
When pressed on whether non-responsive employees would be terminated, Musk clarified that the goal is not to be “precious or unfair” but to ensure that only essential and productive workers remain on the federal payroll. “We wish to keep everyone who is doing a job that is essential and doing that job well,” he said. “But if the job is not essential or they’re not doing the job well, they obviously should not be on the public payroll.”
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Musk took a moment to praise President Trump’s Cabinet, calling it “the best cabinet that the country’s ever had.” He commended the assembled officials for their talent and dedication, emphasizing that the DOGE team’s efforts to reduce waste and modernize government systems depend on their support.
“This can only be done with your support,” Musk said. “So, this is really a support function for the president and for the agencies and departments to help achieve those savings.”
The DOGE team’s efforts have not been without controversy. Musk revealed that he has faced significant backlash, including death threats, for his work.
“I’m taking a lot of flak and getting a lot of death threats,” he said. “But if we don’t do this, America will go bankrupt. That’s why it has to be done.”
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