Trump urges Musk to be 'more aggressive' in cuts
Published: 05:02 PM,Feb 22,2025 | EDITED : 09:02 PM,Feb 22,2025
US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. — Reuters file photo
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would like his billionaire advisor Elon Musk to get 'more aggressive' in implementing his reform agenda cutting back the federal government. 'Elon is doing a great job, but I would like to see him get more aggressive,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. 'Remember, we have a country to save.'
Trump has put the tech entrepreneur in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, tasking him with slashing public spending and tackling waste and alleged corruption. Musk has led the effort to fire swaths of the federal workforce. In the latest cuts announced on Friday, the US Defense Department will cut its civilian workforce by at least five per cent.
Trump's administration has already begun firing many other federal workers who are on probationary status. A judge on Thursday denied a union bid to temporarily halt the firing of thousands of people. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is a free-ranging entity run by Musk, though the cost-cutting spree has been met with pushback on several fronts. — AFP
Trump has put the tech entrepreneur in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, tasking him with slashing public spending and tackling waste and alleged corruption. Musk has led the effort to fire swaths of the federal workforce. In the latest cuts announced on Friday, the US Defense Department will cut its civilian workforce by at least five per cent.
Trump's administration has already begun firing many other federal workers who are on probationary status. A judge on Thursday denied a union bid to temporarily halt the firing of thousands of people. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is a free-ranging entity run by Musk, though the cost-cutting spree has been met with pushback on several fronts. — AFP