Elon Musk Proposes Major Government Overhaul: 'We need to delete entire agencies'
Musk drew a comparison between DOGE's function during the Trump administration and the workforce cuts he implemented at Twitter.
TroibNews 
Elon Musk stated that the United States needs to “delete entire agencies” to fulfill the Trump administration’s objectives of significantly reducing and restructuring the federal workforce.
“I think we do need to delete entire agencies as opposed to leave a lot of them behind,” he expressed during a video call at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday. “It’s kind of like a weed; if we don’t remove the roots of the weed, then it’s easy for the weed to grow back.”
Musk’s participation in the summit followed his contentious efforts to reform federal government programs through his Department of Government Efficiency. This initiative, which has the backing of President Donald Trump, has included threats of mass layoffs, calls for agency closures, and requests for access to sensitive government databases.
“How many agencies do you really need to run a country, 99?” Musk queried. “Not 450, that’s for sure.”
In his remarks, Musk criticized specific agencies, notably the United States Agency for International Development, which has been a primary target of his efforts.
“How much democracy have they achieved lately?” Musk asked. “I don’t know, not much.”
He also labeled Trump’s deferred resignation program for federal workers as "generous," highlighting that employees who opt to retire still have the ability to work through September, take vacations, secure second jobs, or do “whatever they want.”
On Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reported that 75,000 individuals accepted the offer, which concluded this week following a federal judge’s decision to enable the “Fork in the Road” plan to proceed.
Musk characterized DOGE’s initiatives as akin to managing a corporation, likening it to his experience with downsizing Twitter. He purchased the social media platform, now branded as X, for $44 billion in 2022 and claimed to have reduced its workforce by 80 percent while enhancing its “functionalities and capabilities.”
“It’s like a corporate turnaround but at a much larger scale,” he remarked.
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
“I think we do need to delete entire agencies as opposed to leave a lot of them behind,” he expressed during a video call at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday. “It’s kind of like a weed; if we don’t remove the roots of the weed, then it’s easy for the weed to grow back.”
Musk’s participation in the summit followed his contentious efforts to reform federal government programs through his Department of Government Efficiency. This initiative, which has the backing of President Donald Trump, has included threats of mass layoffs, calls for agency closures, and requests for access to sensitive government databases.
“How many agencies do you really need to run a country, 99?” Musk queried. “Not 450, that’s for sure.”
In his remarks, Musk criticized specific agencies, notably the United States Agency for International Development, which has been a primary target of his efforts.
“How much democracy have they achieved lately?” Musk asked. “I don’t know, not much.”
He also labeled Trump’s deferred resignation program for federal workers as "generous," highlighting that employees who opt to retire still have the ability to work through September, take vacations, secure second jobs, or do “whatever they want.”
On Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reported that 75,000 individuals accepted the offer, which concluded this week following a federal judge’s decision to enable the “Fork in the Road” plan to proceed.
Musk characterized DOGE’s initiatives as akin to managing a corporation, likening it to his experience with downsizing Twitter. He purchased the social media platform, now branded as X, for $44 billion in 2022 and claimed to have reduced its workforce by 80 percent while enhancing its “functionalities and capabilities.”
“It’s like a corporate turnaround but at a much larger scale,” he remarked.
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
