WASHINGTON
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk made his first public appearance alongside US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, where they announced new measures to cut government spending—though Musk’s young son briefly stole the spotlight. Dressed in a black “Make America Great Again” cap, black t-shirt, and overcoat, the SpaceX and Tesla tycoon spoke to reporters in the Oval Office while the US president sat behind the historic Resolute Desk. Tasked by Trump to lead federal cost-cutting efforts through his “DOGE” agency Musk warned that the United States would go “bankrupt” without cuts.
The world’s richest man rejected criticisms of a lack of transparency and possible conflicts of interest. He admitted he would make “mistakes” but said he would be tackling what he called the power of an “unelected” bureaucracy.
Trump signed an order that was set to give DOGE extra powers to instruct the heads of government departments to prepare for more of the cuts that have shaken the United States.
Critics have condemned the Musk-led cuts as an unconstitutional concentration of power in the presidency.
But for a few seconds at least, Musk had something else to worry about.
