US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk gave their first joint interview to Fox News, with the co-chair of the department of government efficiency (DOGE) saying that he is there to provide the Republican leader with “technical support”.
Musk told the media outlet that one of the biggest functions of the DOGE team is to ensure that the presidential executive orders are properly carried out.
With “tech support” printed on his T-shirt, the Tesla CEO said that he was present there to “provide the president with technology support”.
Since the president is the elected representative of the people, his works are representing the “will of the people”, Musk said. He further added that “if the bureaucracy is fighting the one of the people, and preventing the president from implementing what the people want. Then what we live in is a bureaucracy and not a democracy.”
The billionaire’s remarks gain significance in the backdrop of the White House clarifying his role in the Trump administration. An official filing noted that Musk is by no means a formal employee of the DOGE and does not hold “formal authority to make government decisions”.
Musk, who has been a close ally of President Trump, has been tasked with co-chairing the efficiency department with an aim of drastically cut down federal budget, including mass layoffs.
Further, while speaking to Fox News, Musk also sent out a message to “those worried about his power as an unelected advisor to the president”, saying that they should rather be more concerned about the sea of unelected federal employees in the US government’s “civilian workforce”.
