Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted on Thursday that Donald Trump has Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency Operation goon squad totally under his control.
The remark seemed to respond to concerns from Democrats that the unelected tech billionaire and his team of baby-faced engineers are staging a bureaucratic takeover of the federal government.
Leavitt was asked by MAGA pundit Charlie Kirk, during an appearance on his show, to set the record straight on how DOGE and its “young geniuses” were operating “under the president’s direction.”
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“There is so much misinformation flying around about DOGE and Elon Musk’s team that are working on behalf and at the direction of the president,” Leavitt said.
“Let me just start by saying that DOGE was a promise that President Trump campaigned on,” she continued. “He campaigned alongside Elon Musk and was very vocal about the fact that he would be appointing Elon—or tasking Elon—with this very important role of putting together the Department of Government Efficiency.”
She said that Musk is hard at work trying to cut government spending on Trump’s behalf.
Since Trump’s inauguration, DOGE has received unprecedented access to sensitive government records, including the federal payment system, which distributes Social Security checks.
Democrats have expressed their outrage, with some alleging that the X and Tesla owner is actually acting as president.
Beyond from criticism from the other side of the aisle, Musk’s antics have also reportedly roiled Trumpworld insiders.
“There could be a collision course coming here at some point,” a Republican aide told Wired. “He’s getting too big for his breeches.”
“I think it’s more the staff who have an issue with Elon than President Trump,” the sourced added.
A Trump advisor also suggested to the magazine that White House staff are putting up with Musk as a sign of deference to the president.
“I have to believe a lot of this is a performance by people who are worried about getting fired,” the unnamed source told Wired.
