Musk defends 'takeover' of US bureaucracy

President Donald Trump ordered US agencies to work closely with top adviser Elon Musk's effort to shrink the federal workforce by identifying government employees who can be laid off and functions that can be eliminated entirely.

With his four-year-old son by his side, billionaire Musk stood next to Trump in the Oval Office at the White House before the order was signed, taking questions from reporters and making it clear that he was leading efforts to cut what he saw as government waste at Trump's behest.

Wearing a "Make America Great Again" cap, the world's richest man defended his role as an unelected official who has been granted unprecedented authority by the president to dismantle parts of the US government.

"You can't have an autonomous federal bureaucracy. You have to have one that's responsive to the people," Musk said. He called the bureaucracy an "unconstitutional" fourth branch that in a lot of ways had "more power than any elected representative."

Musk, the Tesla CEO and owner of X, pushed back at criticism that he and his Department of Government Efficiency team have operated in secrecy.

The department has provided no information or what actions it is taking.

"I fully expect to be scrutinized," Musk said.

Musk also defended himself against criticism that he essentially has launched a non-transparent hostile takeover of government operations.

"You couldn't ask for a stronger mandate from ... the public," he said, citing Trump's election. "The people voted for major government reform. There should be no doubt about that."

The executive order was the latest effort by Trump and Musk to shrink and align the government with Trump's policy priorities. There have already been large-scale buyout offers, attempts to strip civil-service protections from federal workers and the effective shuttering of some agencies.

The order sets forth rules requiring government agencies to hire no more than one employee for every four workers who leave, and it compels agencies to work with Musk's team to identify reductions.

Musk and Trump said they expected to find some US$1 trillion (HK$7.8 trillion) in savings through his efforts.

REUTERS