It has worked in the shadows for months, but Elon Musk’s US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has now offered the first peek behind the curtain of the government cost-cutting drive it launched on behalf of US President Donald Trump.
Musk, the Space X and Tesla tycoon, was accompanied by seven top aides in a joint interview to Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier late on Thursday. They rejected criticism of their disruptive foray through the administration.
Despite mass layoffs in the US federal government, which have sparked an outcry, they said they wanted to offer an “Apple Store-like” consumer experience to Americans.
Photo: Reuters
“This is a revolution,” declared Musk, the world’s richest man.
DOGE has so far kept a low public profile, amid reports of teenage computer wizards sleeping in a huge building adjoining the White House, and demanding access to government departments.
What emerged on television was a slightly different picture — a group comprised almost entirely of middle-aged tech CEOs and Musk aides defending methods that have drawn widespread opposition.
They perched on chairs in two rows, with Musk flanked by two DOGE members in the front, and five on a raised platform behind.
The scene was a room in the White House complex designed for remote meetings — one that a senior Trump aide had recently dismissed as former US president Joe Biden’s “fake Oval Office,” because he used it in a number of events.
Musk opened the interview, saying that DOGE aimed to finish its work by the end of May and that its goal was to be able to reduce federal spending by 15 percent, or from US$7 trillion to US$6 trillion.
Then the others got their turn in the spotlight. First up was Steve Davis, one of Musk’s top lieutenants who is effectively the chief operating officer at DOGE.
A former aeronautics engineer who has followed Musk through several companies including Space X and the social media platform X, he has long kept a low profile.
“Some people say this shouldn’t take a rocket scientist — but you are a rocket scientist,” Baier said.
“Used to be,” Davis replied.
The next was Joe Gebbia, cofounder of flat-sharing app Airbnb.
Gebbia said he had been tasked to overhaul a system in which government retirement documents were kept on paper in an abandoned mine in Pennsylvania.
“We really believe that the government can have an Apple store-like experience,” he said, referring to the sleek shops where the tech giant sells iPhones and other tech.
“Beautifully designed, great user experience, modern systems,” he added.
The DOGE experience has been very different for many federal workers. At least 113,000 federal workers have been fired so far under DOGE’s drive, according to a CNN tracker.
Musk’s team has also been tasked with slashing federal spending — and has effectively shut down the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
There have also been widespread criticisms about the process, including demands from DOGE that federal employees account for the work they have been doing in a bullet pointed memo or face the sack.
DOGE has faced claims of causing disruption to the US social security system and of overstating its savings.
Several polls indicate that most Americans disapprove of the disruption to the nationwide federal workforce.
However, Musk was unrepentant, saying that the biggest complaints were coming from “fraudsters,” without giving evidence.
The tycoon also used the interview to say that Trump’s administration would crack down on people spreading “propaganda” about Tesla, after a number of incidents in which the electric vehicles have been vandalized in protest against Musk.
“Those are the real villains here, and we’re going to go after them,” said Musk, making a two-fingered shooting gesture with his hand.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose