- President Trump stated that Elon Musk, leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, cannot take action without White House approval. Musk and DOGE aim to reduce the size of the government during Trump’s second term.
- Musk indicated it was his idea to shut down USAID, and President Trump “agreed.” Musk described USAID as a “criminal organization.”
- Democratic lawmakers expressed strong opposition to Musk’s involvement in government. A lawsuit has already been filed alleging a government agency gave DOGE confidential information.
Elon Musk can’t do anything without White House approval, President Donald Trump said Monday, Feb. 3. The comments come as the Treasury Department faces a lawsuit for allegedly sharing confidential information with the billionaire’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk and DOGE are tasked with reducing the size of government for Trump’s second administration. The president and the world’s richest person became close after Musk funded Trump’s successful White House bid to the tune of more than $250 million.
DOGE employees have reportedly gained access to Treasury data, including payment systems, tied to Social Security and Medicare.
Trump clarifies Musk isn’t acting alone
“Elon [Musk] can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “And we’ll give him the approval where appropriate. Where not appropriate, we won’t.”
“He’s got access only to letting people go that he thinks are no good, if we agree with him, and it’s only if we agree with him,” the president answered in response to a question about giving Musk access to Treasury payment systems. “He’s a very talented guy from the standpoint of management and costs. And we put him in charge of seeing what he can do with certain groups and certain numbers.”
The president’s comments came the same day his administration shuttered the offices of the U.S. Agency for International Development. The White House put the agency under the control of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with plans to fold it into the State Department.
“There are a lot of functions of USAID that are going to continue, that are going to be part of American foreign policy, but it has to be aligned with American foreign policy,” Rubio said Monday in El Salvador.
USAID disperses financial aid to nations around the globe. President John F. Kennedy set up the agency in 1961.
“USAID is a criminal organization,” Musk wrote in a post on X on Sunday, Feb. 2. “Time for it to die.”
USAID is a criminal organization.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 2, 2025
Time for it to die. https://t.co/sWYy6fyt1k
Democrats protest Musk’s government involvement
Musk’s presence in Washington has been a big topic of discussion for Democratic lawmakers since Trump’s inauguration.
“We don’t have a fourth branch of government called Elon Musk, and that’s going to become real clear,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said during a protest in favor of USAID.
“President Trump directed his corrupt billionaire friend, Elon Musk, to ransack a critical agency of the U.S. government,” Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., said at the same event. “Musk and his band of unelected acolytes at DOGE have locked out USAID employees from their offices, improperly accessed highly classified information, purged the agency of its nonpartisan leadership and thrown the agency into chaos.”
Trump backs Musk’s actions
Despite those concerns, Musk said Trump signed off on the action at USAID.
“With regard to the USAID stuff, I went over it with him in detail, and he agreed that we should shut it down,” he said during a conversation on X Spaces Monday.
Trump established DOGE through an executive order signed on Inauguration Day. It is not a government agency, but in that directive, Trump called on all agencies to give DOGE “full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems.”
Trump initially tapped former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to co-lead DOGE with Musk. But Ramaswamy left the role before the president officially established it, leaving Musk alone at the top.
Ramaswamy is expected to launch a run for governor of Ohio next year. Coincidentally, DOGE is set to dissolve on July 4, 2026, the 250th birthday of the United States.
