Trump Tells Musk: ‘Get Extra Aggressive’

• Trump says he’d wish to see Elon Musk “get extra aggressive.”
• Musk is the face of DOGE, which has upended Washington with its finances cuts and layoffs.
• Musk responded to Trump’s remark a number of hours later.

So far as President Donald Trump is worried, Elon Musk’s DOGE is not chopping sufficient.

On Saturday, Trump praised Musk’s efforts to streamline authorities operations and scale back the dimensions of the federal paperwork after which referred to as on his ally to do much more.

“Elon is doing an awesome job, however I want to see him get extra aggressive,” Trump wrote in all caps on his social media platform, TruthSocial.

A couple of hours later, Musk responded on his social media platform, X.

“In line with President @realDonaldTrump’s directions, all federal staff will shortly obtain an electronic mail requesting to grasp what they obtained completed final week. Failure to reply shall be taken as a resignation.”

Throughout a speech on the Conservative Political Motion Convention on Saturday, Trump referred to as Musk a “patriot” for his authorities work.

In simply over a month in workplace, Trump and the White Home DOGE workplace have pushed by means of buyout affords and laid off swaths of staffers on the US Company for Worldwide Improvement, the Shopper Monetary Safety Bureau, and elsewhere.

DOGE on Thursday mentioned it had already saved taxpayers $55 billion, principally by means of canceled contracts, although it has made some errors in its accounting, like reporting a contract was price billions when it was really price thousands and thousands.

Musk says his final purpose is to chop at the very least $1 trillion — or a “best-case end result” of $2 trillion — from the federal finances.

“Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, a vocal supporter of Trump’s financial insurance policies, additionally mentioned throughout a CNN interview on Thursday that Musk ought to go even additional in his efforts.

“I do not suppose he is chopping sufficient,” O’Leary mentioned. “If you discover a damaged firm, no matter you suppose it’s best to lower, you add 20 % extra to it. Then you definately see how the group adjusts, and you may at all times rent again.”

“There’s at all times going to be a possibility to criticize some lower that was too deep or the improper particular person obtained lower,” he continued. “However my level is, so long as you retain the mandate in place, maintain chopping, maintain hacking, maintain slashing. That is good for presidency.”

Musk’s move-fast and break-things effort to disrupt and reinvent the federal authorities is having a major real-world impression throughout the nation.

Along with the 1000’s who’ve left their jobs and are actually unemployed, many farmers and organizations that depend on federal funding are in search of clarification on whether or not invoices for accomplished work shall be paid.

Authorized challenges to Trump’s slew of government actions have added to the uncertainty federal employees now face.