Trump: Elon Musk-Led DOGE Can Act Only With Administration Approval

President Donald Trump said Monday (Feb. 3) that Elon Musk can “let people go” only with the approval of the administration and not in instances in which he may have a conflict of interest.

Musk leads the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that is tasked with boosting efficiency and productivity within the federal government.

Trump’s answer came after a reporter asked him Monday why Musk should have access to the payment systems at the Treasury Department, according to a video posted on X by the White House’s official “rapid response” account, Rapid Response 47.

“He’s got access only to letting people go that he thinks are no good, if we agree with him, and it’s only if we agree with him,” Trump said.

Trump said later: “Elon can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval, and we’ll give him the approval where appropriate. Where not appropriate, we won’t.”

After noting that Musk runs big companies, Trump added, “If there’s a conflict, then we won’t let him get near it.”

In a repost of the video on X, Musk commented: “Exactly.”

Trump said in the video that Musk’s team has found “tremendous waste” and probably fraud and abuse.

It was reported Saturday (Feb. 1) that the Musk-led DOGE had access to the system that disburses money on behalf of the federal government, having been given that access by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and that this access provides DOGE with a tool that can be used to monitor and limit government spending.

On the previous day, it was reported that U.S. Department of the Treasury Fiscal Assistant Secretary David A. Lebryk would step down after clashing with Musk allies over a request from DOGE for access to sensitive payment systems. DOGE officials had been asking for access to the system since after the election.

On Sunday (Feb. 2), Musk said DOGE was halting payments to federal contractors as “corruption and waste is being rooted out in real-time.”

This access has been criticized by some lawmakers.

The ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, wrote in a Friday letter to Bessent that Musk’s access to the Treasury Department payment systems could allow his associates to “illegally withhold payments to any number of programs.”