 "Elon Musk's Doge team has been charged by US President Donald Trump with cutting waste.")
US President Donald Trump held his first meeting with his Cabinet members, where his question about billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk left everyone in an awkward feeling. The meeting took a unusual turn when Trump asked, “Is anybody unhappy with Elon?”
Musk also attended the meeting and said he had been receiving “a lot of death threats” for what he was doing.
As the meeting began, Cabinet members sat quietly. Trump’s team was listening as Elon Musk addressed them, but there was a noticeable uneasiness in the atmosphere.
Just before the Cabinet meeting, Trump took to social media and posted on Truth social that his team was “EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH ELON.”
Musk heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to cut spending by the US government.
Earlier, in an effort to reduce federal spending, Musk ordered federal employees to justify their work via email or resign, causing unease among Trump’s other secretaries.
However, when Trump asked his team about their views on Musk, no one responded. Instead, nervous laughter filled the room.
Although Musk holds no official Cabinet position in Trump 2.0, he has a significant role and influence in the administration.
Doge is working to fix outdated system: Musk in meeting
When Trump invited him to speak, Musk stood up and explained that DOGE is working to fix the government’s outdated computer systems.
“As crazy as it sounds, our team is basically providing tech support for the government," Musk said. “Many of these systems are extremely old, they don’t communicate properly, and they have a lot of errors. The software doesn’t work. So, ironically, we’re here to fix it.”
Impact Shorts
More ShortsMusk further emphasised that DOGE wouldn’t be perfect and “will make mistakes.”
“But when we make a mistake, we’ll fix it very quickly. For example, with USAID, one of the things we accidentally cancelled, very briefly, was Ebola prevention. I think we all wanted Ebola prevention. So, we restored it immediately, and there was no interruption,” he said.
Mass-layoffs by Musk-led Doge
Musk-led Doge has initiated significant mass layoffs across various federal agencies as part of a broader strategy to reduce government spending. Since the program’s inception in January 2025, approximately 30,000 federal employees.