Musk defends mass DOGE firings, says the US should not live in a bureaucracy

WASHINGTON — Elon Musk defended the work of the Department of Government Efficiency Tuesday, saying the US should not be run by a “bureaucracy.”Speaking next to President Trump in the Oval Office, the tech mogul argued he’s carrying out the commander-in-chief’s mandate by moving to fire thousands of government workers and cutting back on federal spending.“If the people cannot vote and have their will be decided by their elected representatives in the form of the president and the Senate and the House, then we don’t live in a Democracy.We live in a bureaucracy,” Musk said.The president gave Musk another mandate Tuesday to direct agencies to keep only “essential” employees and eliminate unneeded agencies altogether — giving him even more authority to overhaul the US government.Critics have skewered DOGE for combing through federal agencies and eliminating vast tranches of money set aside for federal projects — including eliminating the entire US Agency for International Development, nixing a museum exhibit for former COVID czar Anthony Fauci and ending costly news subscriptions for federal bodies.“We do find it sort of rather odd that there are quite a few people in the bureaucracy who have, ostensibly a salary of a few hundred thousand dollars but somehow managed to accrue tens of millions of dollars in net worth while they are in that position,” Musk claimed.“Which is what happened to USAID.

We’re just curious as to where it came from….I think the reality is that they’re getting wealthier at taxpayer expense.”Musk did not provide any specific examples, though foreign contracting historically has been vulnerable to fraudulent self-dealing.Opponents have expressed concern that Musk, the world’s richest man, is unelected, yet has great access to altering the executive branch.Courts have pushed back on Trump’s push to revamp the federal government structure, and he said Tuesday he would “abide” by the rulings, but would ...