Donald Trump makes controversial admission about Elon Musk in first major speech since second term
President Donald Trump made an admission about Elon Musk in his first major speech since beginning his second term as US president.
On Tuesday (4 March), Trump addressed Congress in a joint session where he delivered a 90-minute speech about everything he had achieved so far in office and what his plans are moving forward.
He spoke about his key objectives as well as trade tariffs and the situation in Ukraine.
Since he began his second term as president, Trump has set about making a number of significant changes in government, including setting up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
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In his speech, Trump explained that Musk is heading up DOGE, telling Congress: "I have created the brand new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, perhaps you've heard of it. Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight.
"Thank you, Elon. He’s working very hard. He didn’t need this. He didn’t need this. Thank you very much, we appreciate it. Everybody here — even this side appreciates it, I believe. They just don’t want to admit that. Just listen to some of the appalling waste we have already identified."
Trump went on to list some of the areas the government had been spending in, before adding: "Under the Trump administration, all of these scams — and there are far worse — but I didn’t think it was appropriate to talk about them. They’re so bad. Many more have been found out and exposed and swiftly terminated by a group of very intelligent, mostly young people headed up by Elon, and we appreciate it. We found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud.
"And we’ve taken back the money and reduced our debt to fight inflation and other things — taken back a lot of that money. We got it just in time. This is just the beginning."
Under some of the changes made, a number of federal workers have lost their jobs, leading to protests and uproar among employees.
However, plaintiffs are challenging the dismissal of some federal workers, with one recent court filing explaining: "Like other senior White House advisors, Mr. Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself."
The White House, meanwhile, has said that Musk is a 'Special Government Employee' serving on a temporary basis.
It's also reported that Musk is not receiving a pay cheque for the position.
Speaking about him previously, Trump added: "Elon will not do anything without our approval and we will give him the approval where appropriate.
"If there is a conflict, we won't let him get near it. He has a team of talented people. We are trying to shrink government. Where we think there is a conflict or a problem, we won't let him go near it.
"... [Musk] has access only to letting people go that he thinks are no good - if we agree with him. He is talented from the standpoint of management and cost and we put him in charge of seeing what he could do with certain groups and certain numbers."
Tyla has reached out to The White House for comment.
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Elon Musk
Lucy Devine