- Elon Musk stated he "got carried away" and "a little too involved in politics" while serving as the unelected director of the Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ) inside Donald Trump ’s administration, he told The Economist.
- Musk defended DOGE 's actions, which included mass firings of federal employees and significant cuts to federal spending, notably dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
- He dismissed public health research linking USAID cuts to potentially hundreds of thousands of deaths, asserting that "zero" people died as a result of DOGE's cost-cutting measures.
- Musk labeled USAID a "political organization" and "the biggest funder of regime change," rejecting claims of its life-saving impact as "nonsense."
- DOGE's 18-month operation led to over 272,000 federal employee departures and cuts to various grants, ultimately shutting down amid lawsuits alleging politically motivated and unconstitutional abuse.
IN FULL
