In a lengthy interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, tech billionaire Elon Musk advocated for cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), defended the advisory board's actions, labeling non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as “probably the biggest scam.”
Musk, who was tapped by President Trump to lead Doge, but not the board's representative administrator, said in a three-hour speech that the committee still funds programs that it “seems to be legal,” but many of the Doges reviewed aren't.
SpaceX Executive described Doge as “the first threat to bureaucracy.” He said he found $1.9 billion sent to inactive NGOs before Doge got the money, but did not share the entity's name.
“Many things that Doge has been revised were identified by the government's accountability office years ago,” Musk said. During the episode It aired on Friday.
Tesla executives, who head five other companies, touched on concerns that lawmakers and Doge employees could access sensitive information. A tech entrepreneur who is a Trump advisor, said staff members have been vetted like other federal workers and have the necessary security clearance.
“Everyone at Doge has to go through the same review process that those federal employees have experienced,” Musk said.
He also told Rogan that Doge would recommend federal cuts, but that they will ultimately be done by the agencies or departments.
Musk and Doge are under intense pushbacks and courtroom challenges from lawmakers over their efforts to sabotage government agencies, cut funds and implement massive employee layoffs. They said Doge's actions were to enhance government efficiency, remove unnecessary regulations and expose fraud.
The technology mogul followed the United States International Development Agency (USAID), Washington's leading outlet to distribute foreign aid, which has eliminated 90% of foreign contracts earlier this week.
Musk also defeated Social Security and claimed that the program is plagued by fraud as people still receive benefits after their deaths.
“We found that a basic search of the Social Security database alone marked 20 million deaths as alive,” Musk told Logan that people were getting funded, but he didn't specify which percentage.
The Associated Press reported in mid-February that tens of millions of dead people over the age of 100 undergoing Social Security Checks had allegedly false.
“The data reported are people in our records and have a Social Security number that does not have a date of death associated with their records. These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits,” said Lee Dudek, representative of Social Security. statement.
However, masks doubled on Friday.
“Essentially, people live much longer than expected and fewer babies are born, so you're more people leaving, you're living for a long time, and more people are paid for retirement,” he said in the episode,” Tech Mogul told Rogan.
