Amid questions about Elon Musk’s role, President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he opposes “many” of the billionaire’s ideas to reduce government spending, but praised his efforts to shut down USAID, the international aid agency, and defended Musk’s reportedly young “Department of Government Efficiency” aides.
When asked how frequently he speaks with Musk and if he has ever presented an idea that went too far, Trump said, “Well, many ideas, but look, he’s done a great job.”
“Look at all the fraud he’s discovered in the USAID. “It’s a disaster,” he said, blaming what he termed “radical left lunatics” for money “going to all sorts of groups that shouldn’t get any money.”
“I want to know what the kickbacks are. How much money has been given back? Who would spend that much money on some of the things you read about?” Trump said, without providing any evidence.
When a reporter mentioned that it appears he is slowing down USAID, Trump responded, “That sounds like it. I mean, I believe so.
Musk has labeled the agency “hopeless” and stated that he is “in the process” of “closing [it] down,” which he claims Trump supports.
“We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Musk posted on X Monday.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Musk’s unprecedented role in government, telling reporters Tuesday morning that “the American people elected President Trump to do exactly what Elon Musk is assisting President Trump with, and when it comes to USAID, Elon Musk and his team have discovered egregious spending of federal tax dollars being wasted.”
However, while stating that the State Department would take over USAID operations if it were to be closed, Trump also acknowledged that certain USAID expenditure is worthwhile.
“Well, I guess Rubio being in charge — State Department because they’re giving money to — I mean, some of the money is well spent, I guess?” Trump stated, alluding to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “But much of it is really fraudulent.”
On Monday, Rubio was designated interim administrator of USAID, and he informed Congress that a “review of USAID’s foreign assistance activities is underway with an eye towards potential reorganization.”
Trump also defended Musk’s team’s qualifications. “Some of these DOGE engineers that Elon Musk has helping him are as young as 19 years,” Trump pointed out. He added, “that’s good.”
“Some are youthful, while others are not young. Some people are not young at all. “But they discovered great things,” he continued.
“No, I haven’t seen them,” Trump answered when asked if he had met Musk’s advisers. “They literally work out of the White House. They are intelligent, in contrast to what they perform in control towers, where we want intelligent individuals. We should deploy some of them in the control towers, where we were placing individuals who were mentally disabled.”
Musk’s crew is mostly made up of engineers and young individuals with little or no government experience, with at least one being 19 years old.