Feb. 11 (UPI) — Elon Musk joined Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday and faced reporters as the president signed an executive order to “significantly” shrink the federal workforce.
Trump’s latest order directs the Department of Government Efficiency, which is headed by Musk, to implement a “workforce optimization initiative” and drastically reduce staffing in federal agencies, while freezing hiring to only “essential positions.”
“Agency heads shall promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force, consistent with applicable law,” the order reads, adding that “all offices that perform functions not mandated by statute or other law” should be prioritized in the cuts. The executive order does not apply to law enforcement, national security and immigration.
“It’s not optional to reduce federal expenses, it’s essential,” said Musk, who was joined by his son X. “All our actions are fully public.”
“The people voted for major government reform and that’s what the people are going to get,” Musk told reporters, as he defended DOGE’s accountability. “That’s what democracy is all about.”
It was the first time the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive officer and billionaire took questions from reporters since Trump began his second term. Musk has faced criticism from Democrats, who argue he was not elected.
“We’ve already found billions of dollars of abuse, incompetence and corruption,” Trump countered in reference to DOGE’s ongoing efforts to cut wasteful spending. Trump has tasked Musk and DOGE with eliminating $2 trillion from the federal budget.
To cut costs, Tuesday’s order directs federal agencies to hire no more than one employee for every four workers who leave. And it directs the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to add new conduct rules for future hires, once Trump’s federal hiring freeze expires, to include U.S. citizenship and federal tax filing requirements.
“What are the two ingredients that are really necessary in order to cut the budget deficit in half, from $2 trillion to $1 trillion?” Musk queried before answering, “It’s really two things: competence and caring.”
Last month, the Trump administration offered eight-month buyouts to nearly all 2.3 million federal employees if they chose not to return to in-person work and agreed to resign. Remote work policies enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic have remained in place for many federal workers.
“We have too many people. We have office spaces occupied by 4% — nobody showing up to work because they were told not to,” Trump said Tuesday.
To date, approximately 65,000 federal employees have accepted the buyout offer, which is currently on hold following a legal challenge by federal employees unions. A federal judge in Boston on Monday extended a temporary restraining order on the offer.
“I hope that the court system is going to allow us to do what we have to do,” Trump said, adding that while he will abide by a court’s ruling he will be prepared to appeal.
Since last month, Musk and his DOGE workers shut down the United States Agency for International Development and were blocked from accessing the Treasury Department’s payment systems.
Musk told reporters DOGE’s aim is to “rightsize” the government.
“There needs to be a lot of people working for the federal government, but not as many as currently.”