Some key words emerged from President Donald Trump’s joint interview with Elon Musk on Sean Hannity’s Fox News program last night.
Two big ones were “caring” and “competence,” attributes Musk said were crucial to stewarding American taxpayer money.
“It stands to reason that if you don’t have competence and you don’t have caring, you’re going to get a terrible deal,” Musk said during the interview,
The biggest, albeit short and crisp word is one now familiar to D.C.: “DOGE,” short for the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk’s time-limited commission has sparked enthusiasm, outrage, and everything in between as it has gotten to work. On its website, DOGE claims to have identified $55 billion in estimated savings so far even as it faces lawsuits and growing opposition from many Democrats.
In addition to key words, there was a key phrase: “conflict of interest.”
How would Musk and Trump navigate any that may exist between the world’s wealthiest man, a frequent government contractor, and the federal waste disposal unit he now oversees?
Related Story
“I’ll recuse myself,” Musk pledged.
That may not appease many DOGE skeptics in the House and Senate, who have also warned that DOGE could soon target social spending.
Trump during interview pledged Social Security would be left intact, except for the identification of fraud.
The program presented a lovefest between the world’s wealthiest individual and the president of the United States—both now subject to media scrutiny and, in Musk’s case, accusations from the press and some Democrats of usurping Trump’s role as president.
Trump said Musk phoned him to say, “‘You know, they’re trying to drive us apart.’”
“It’s just so obvious. They’re so bad at it. I used to think they were good at it. They’re actually bad at it, because if they were good at it, I’d never be president,” he added.
Musk came to the interview wearing a tech support t-shirt, underscoring his role as Trump’s vital, but subordinate, assistant.
“I think President Trump is a good man,” the tech entrepreneur said.
Trump returned the affection, saying he “couldn’t find anyone smarter” than Musk to assist his administration.
He also lauded the DOGE employees aiding in Musk’s effort, which he predicted would pinpoint $1 trillion in waste, fraud, abuse, or other suspect spending.
He broke out something that was, if not quite a key word, certainly a favorite Trump compliment.
“I call them high-IQ individuals,” the president quipped.
—Nathan Worcester
BOOKMARKS
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has ruled that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) can have access to data from multiple government agencies. Several states sued to block DOGE from accessing data from the Treasury Department and other agencies, but the judge ruled that “the ‘possibility’ that defendants may take actions that irreparably harm plaintiffs ‘is not enough.’”
Trump has signed an executive order asking the Domestic Policy Council to submit ideas to make in vitro fertilization more affordable. The group has 90 days to come up with policy suggestions, including possible legislation, that will reduce insurance and out-of-pocket costs for the treatment.
Pope Francis remains hospitalized, and has contracted pneumonia in both lungs, following a bout of bronchitis. The pope has been forced to cancel upcoming events, but remains “in good spirits,” the Vatican says.
DOGE announced on Feb. 17 that $4.7 trillion in payments are nearly untraceable, because they are missing identification codes. The codes used to be optional, but as of this past Saturday, they are required.
Musk is a senior adviser to Trump, and a special government employee, but not an employee of DOGE, the White House said in a court filing on Feb. 17. Musk can advise the president and communicate his directives, but “has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself,” White House official Joshua Fisher wrote.
—Stacy Robinson
