Trump defends ‘terrific’ Elon Musk’s government overhaul

President Donald Trump said that Elon Musk, who is overseeing job reductions in US government agencies, will be instrumental in uncovering “hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud” within federal departments in comments set to air on Sunday (Feb 09).

Fox News released a brief excerpt of an interview with President Trump, set to be broadcast in full later today.

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During the preview, Trump was asked if he trusted Musk, the owner of X, who has been tasked with running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an entity that is not officially recognised as a government department.

‘Musk not gaining anything’

“He’s not gaining anything,” Trump said in the interview, scheduled to air at 15:00 EST (20:00 GMT). He further mentioned that he would direct Musk to vet the Department of Education “soon” before moving on to doing “the same thing” with the US military.

“We’re going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse. And, you know, the people elected me on that,” Trump asserted in excerpts released by Fox News.

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The president voiced his appreciation for Musk’s contributions, saying, “I’ve had great help with Elon Musk, who’s been terrific.”

Just three weeks into his second term in the White House, Trump has issued a series of executive orders aimed at cutting down federal expenditure. As part of these efforts, he has assigned SpaceX and Tesla chief executive Musk to lead cost-cutting initiatives under the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE.

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Musk has already begun taking action by dismantling the US Agency for International Development, resulting in mass layoffs. However, federal judges have intervened, temporarily halting further layoffs.

(With inputs from agencies)