Tech billionaire Elon Musk said that he was tech support with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Donald Trump administration, and the department was doing extensive work to fix the government’s computer systems. Musk, adviser to US President Donald Trump and the head of the DOGE, made these remarks while speaking at Trump’s first Cabinet meeting.
He said that he was a “tech support” and donned a T-shirt that said ‘tech support’ and a cap that said ‘Make America Great Again,’ a tagline used by Republicans. As he first stood up to speak, the billionaire said that he was “tech support” and said DOGE was doing lots of work to “fix the government computer systems.” He later added that he had received “a lot of death threats” over the work he has been doing, which has involved hundreds of people losing their jobs, as highlighted by CNN.
Musk is not a Cabinet member and was not elected to office. However, he said, “President Trump has put together the best Cabinet ever. And I do not give false praise. This is an incredible group of people. I don’t think such a talented team has ever been assembled.”
Over the weekend, Musk blasted out an email telling federal employees to explain their work or risk losing their jobs. One million federal workers have responded to that email after conflicting guidance from Musk, Trump, and various agencies, CNN reported. The email was something Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, spoke about in her briefing on Wednesday.
“It’s a very simple idea when you think about it: all this administration is asking is for federal workers, who live off the American taxpayers’ dime, to send five bullet points of what they have done in the previous week. That’s all we are asking for,” she said. The US Office of Personnel Management highlighted Leavitt’s email, wherein she said how she had to spare just ‘2 minutes’ to draft the same.
“Giving five bullets on what you did last week is so easy that even the busy White House Press Secretary found time to do it!” When questioned about that email in the Cabinet meeting, Musk said it was not a “performance review” but rather a “pulse check review,” as per CNN.
“We think there are a number of people on the government payroll who are dead. Which is probably why they can’t respond. And some people who are not real people, like they’re fictional individuals that are collecting paychecks,” he said. “So we’re trying to figure out, are these people real, are they alive and can they write an email?” Musk said.
The DOGE leader continued that the overhaul of federal workers could only have been done “with the support of everyone in this room,” as per CNN. The Tesla CEO also admitted that, as a part of his sweeping overhaul of the US government, some critical roles were laid off. He noted that among them were USAID’s Ebola prevention programmes, which were “accidentally” cancelled as a part of the overhaul. That cancellation was immediately reversed, he said.
The tech billionaire tried to clarify that his email blast requiring federal workers to detail their past week’s work was not a performance review but a “pulse check.” Trump, however, was quick to interrupt to claim those federal workers who have not replied to the email “are on the bubble” and at risk of getting fired.
The US President said that some members of his Cabinet “disagree a little bit” with Elon Musk. “Is anybody unhappy with Elon? If you are, then we’ll throw them out of here,” Trump said, prompting varying levels of applause from the Cabinet members seated around the table in the Cabinet Room.
He added, “They have a lot of respect for Elon and that he’s doing this. And some disagree a little bit. But I will tell you for the most part, I think everyone’s not only happy, they’re thrilled.”
(With agency Inputs)