Anyone who works for the American taxpayers should expect to answer questions, if not from the people directly, then from the press. That’s how things have always been; these people work for us and (barring anything like disclosures of classified information) should be accountable for what they are doing. That applies to every public-sector employee, from the president of the United States down to the third assistant dogcatcher in Dry Gulch, New Mexico.
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So it should come as no surprise that President Trump, during a joint presser with the Prime Minister of Japan, was asked if the press would have a chance to talk to Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) honcho Elon Musk. And it’s even less of a surprise that the president answered in the affirmative.
President Donald Trump is not apologizing for Elon Musk. In fact, he seems ready to show off the tech billionaire.
On Friday, while taking questions during a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Trump was pressed by a reporter on whether the media would have a chance to question Musk.
“Oh, sure. He’ll be— He’s not shy. Elon’s not shy,” Trump answered.
Given what Musk and his organization are doing, he’ll have to be not only un-shy but rather thick-skinned. The cutting of billions in ridiculously wasteful federal spending is causing much wailing and gnashing of teeth in certain quarters, and the people doing the wailing and gnashing have lots of allies in the legacy media. Still, President Trump has demonstrated his own ability to handle that branch of the press in the past, and it’s a safe bet that Elon Musk won’t be cowed by them.
Musk and the DOGE have the president’s full support, which helps.
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Trump was also asked about a recent Time magazine cover depicting Musk sitting behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office at the White House. In response, Trump, who was named Time’s 2024 Person of the Year, quipped that he didn’t realize the magazine was still around.
“Is Time magazine still in business? I didn’t even know that,” Trump joked. However, he went on to give the tech billionaire some serious praise. “Elon is doing a great job. He’s finding tremendous fraud, and corruption, and waste.”
The president specifically praised Musk’s work in going through U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) spending, saying that “the whole thing is a fraud.”
The DOGE so far has identified billions in wasteful spending. The number will almost certainly be in the trillions before the job is done.
See Related: How Is Elon Finding Despicable Gov’t Waste So Quickly? He Has a Secret Weapon—and It’s ‘Intelligent’
Yes, every government employee, even special employees, advisors, staffers, and so on – all are accountable to the taxpayers. That means they should expect to answer questions from the media. Elon Musk is no exception, nor (obviously) does President Trump think he should be. Transparency, real transparency, sure is a refreshing thing in Washington.
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Oh, and Elon Musk and his DOGE have a new target:
Buckle up, this should be good… https://t.co/HijA1wtNuy
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) February 8, 2025
The DOGE may find themselves once more in a target-rich environment on this one. FEMA has been plagued with accusations lately, not only with wasteful spending but with claims an agency supervisor, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, told FEMA workers to avoid homes bearing Trump signs or stickers. (That supervisor has been fired.)
Hang on, folks. This ride’s just getting started.
