SEATED AT THE HEAD OF A LARGE Conference Table Inside The Wing’s Roosevelt Room On Wednesday Afternoon, Elon Musk, Dressed In His Signature T-Shirt and Blazer, Ducked the Question of WHETHER DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICKY WARMD MEETGE FICINCY FICINCY FICICH FICIncy ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety ficiety fiction ficiety fiction ficiety ficiety fiction.
“I think it is possible to do that, but it is a long way to go, and, you know, it’s really diffusion,” he said about the target of billions of dollars. “It is ordered or, how much pain is, you know, is the cabinet and the congress is willing to take?
His character contrasted with his confidence that hits his chest only a few months about what it would be to achieve in the government. Understanding a demonstration of Trump in Madison Square Garden in October, Musk told a roar crowd that he could cut “at least two billion” in federal expenses. Hey later in half that figure.
Now, Mr. Musk, who never previously served in the Government, has been forced to review their expectations even more, thought that he still insists that his goals remain possible technicians. His 101 days in the government have been stormy, and his interview series this week, including Wednesday session with journalists from the main newspapers and television networks, seemed to be an effort to eliminate control of messages.
He has faced the secretaries of the cabinet and presented complaints from legislators whose services and jobs of the components were threatened by the cuts of his government efficiency department. He has been argued with the president on the rates and faced protests from federal employees, even in his decision to dismantle entire agencies, including the United States Agency for International Development and the Office of Financial Protection of the Consumer.
It has also encountered a mathematical problem that the budget experts of both parties warned: there is no way to reduce a billion dollars without addressing the most sensitive parts of the budget, the social security networks and military spending program.
The billionaire says he is proud of the cuts that Doge has made. He says he plans to spend again working on his companies, which include Tesla, X and Spacex, but hopes to dedicate about two days a week to government work, visiting Washington every two weeks.
Doge originally intended to operate only until July 4, 2026, but Musk said he could imagine the effort that extends during the four years of the Trump administration. He said he would be President Trump to decide how long he wanted him to continue working on the initiative. Mr. Musk can turn only 130 days as a “special employee of the government”, but if he reduces his hours to the part -time, his time working for the Trump administration could be extended for months.
Mr. Musk insisted that Dege would do well in his absence. But he was evasive, he turns to jokes, when asked who would fill his place.
“Doge is a way of life. Like Buddhism,” Musk said.
Pressure again, said: “Is Buddha needed for Buddhism?”
In the count of Mr. Musk, he has given Doge, who compared with a “new company”, the intensive explosion of his attention that he required to take off. Mr. Musk claims to have saved taxpayers $ 160 billion so far.
But the “receipt wall” online of Doge does not represent 64 percent of that total. The group has only detailed $ 58 billion of its savings by linking them with specific cancellation subsidies and leases. The other $ 102 billion are not explained. And the $ 58 million in savings that Dege has detailed is significantly inflated, by including direct errors and conjectures about the future.
Mr. Musk said it was still “absolutely” possible to find $ 1 billion in savings to face the problem of the national balloon debt, but that it remained to see if there was “enough political will in the congress and elsewhere to today.”
“And we may not succeed,” he said.
Trump has made clear Mr. Musk that some of the most considerable parts of the federal government are out of the limits for serious reform. The president has ruled out to make any change in Social Security and Medicare, which represent more than a third of federal expenditure. And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseeth has said that Hey Gallins The Pentagon Budget will increase to $ 1 billion.
In the White House on Wednesday, Mr. Musk reiterated that there were billions more to save from the reduction of waste and that his team had found clear fraud evidence.
Reflecting on his time in Washington, Musk shared an unusual amount of details about his life with Trump.
“I guess we are good friends, and we will be in Air Force One or Marine One, and he says:” Hey, do you want to stay? “And I say” safe “,” Mr. Musk said.
Mr. Musk ended up spending the night in Lincoln’s room several times.
Duration one of those pijamadas, said Musk, Mr. Trump called him late at night to tell him to make sure he obtained a little kitchen cream. The billionaire said that a full caramel container Häagen-Dazs was helped.
“I thought, this is incredible,” he said.
David A. Fahrenthold Contributed reports.
