President Donald Trump heaped praise on Elon Musk as the billionaire businessman ends his limited advisory role with the Trump-created Department of Government Efficiency.
“He stepped forward to put his very great talents into the service of our nation, and we appreciate it,” Trump said in a May 30 Oval Office press conference with Musk. “Elon has worked tirelessly, helping lead the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations.”
Trump did most of the talking from his seat at the Resolute Desk, answering reporters’ questions and repeating false and misleading talking points about gas prices, “autopen” technology, his immigration policies and the Republican spending bill awaiting the Senate.
Trump recited a list of multimillion-dollar international projects he said Musk canceled, misrepresenting some efforts as “Arab Sesame Street” or “making mice transgender.”
Musk wore a black DOGE hat over a bruised right eye that he blamed on a punch from his young son.
When a reporter asked Musk about not hitting his promised $1 trillion cuts for DOGE, Musk said DOGE’s work may eventually amount to $1 trillion in savings. DOGE’s “wall of receipts,” a website of canceled contracts and programs, says the cost-cutting effort has saved $175 billion, though news outlets have found flaws in the group’s tallies.
We fact-checked Trump and Musk’s comments in the live blog below:
Our Sources
See links in live blog entries.
