Elon Musk and seven members of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team defended their cost-cutting mission during an interview Thursday — and just revealed a shocking bombshell on their findings.
Musk revealed that the DOGE team “routinely encounters wastes of a billion dollars or more… casually” in federal spending, including a billion dollar survey on National Parks that could have been done for $10,000 or less.
Take a look —
🚨 #BREAKING: Elon Musk just exposed the federal government spent almost $1 BILLION on a short survey asking whether or not people like National Parks
This is disgusting.
“We routinely encounter a waste of a billion dollars or more. Casually. This 10 question survey could’ve… pic.twitter.com/wNRHDqhQK9
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 27, 2025
The DOGE team also dismissed media criticism of mass layoffs, and explained that they’re saving taxpayers billions daily without harming essential services.
“This is a revolution, and I think it might be the biggest revolution in government since the original revolution,” Musk declared during an exclusive interview with Fox News “Special Report” host Bret Baier. “But at the end of the day, America’s going to be in much better shape.”
The rare joint appearance marks the first time DOGE leadership has spoken publicly together since the group began its federal spending-cut blitz in January. The team claims to have saved $130 billion so far – about $807 per taxpayer.
“We want to reduce spending by eliminating waste and fraud and reduce the spending by 15%, which seems really quite achievable,” said Musk, who serves as an unpaid special government employee. “The government is not efficient, and there’s a lot of waste and fraud. So we feel confident that a 15% reduction can be done without affecting any of the critical government services.”
Musk said he was confident the team would achieve $1 trillion in spending cuts within his legally permitted 130-day window, saying DOGE is averaging “$4 billion a day, every day, seven days a week” in savings.
“Unless this exercise is successful, the ship of America will sink,” Musk warned. “That’s why we’re doing it.”
DOGE has faced fierce criticism by the media and Democratic Party leaders for its austerity measures. The group has effectively shuttered the 10,000-person USAID, cut half the Department of Education’s staff, and overseen mass terminations of unnecessary employees across government.
Yet Musk and his team defended the scale of firings. Anthony Armstrong, a former Morgan Stanley banker working with DOGE at the Office of Personnel Management, said “less than .15 [percent] of the federal workforce has actually been given a RIF [reduction-in-force] notice.”
“Basically, almost no one’s gotten fired,” Musk interjected.
The group addressed concerns about disruptions to Social Security after reports of system glitches. DOGE software engineer Aram Moghaddassi explained that over 40% of calls to Social Security are from fraudsters attempting to steal benefits.
“In fact, what we’re doing will help their benefits,” Musk insisted. “Legitimate people, as a result of the work of DOGE, will receive more Social Security, not less. I want to emphasize that, as a result of the work of DOGE, legitimate recipients of Social Security will receive more money, not less money.”
The team highlighted examples of government waste they’re targeting. Steve Davis, a DOGE member, pointed to the federal government having issued “4.6 million credit cards for around 2.3 to 2.4 million employees.”
“Clearly there should not be more credit cards than there are people,” Musk responded.
Joe Gebbia, billionaire Airbnb co-founder working with DOGE, criticized paper-based retirement processes for federal employees, calling it “an injustice to civil servants.”
“We really believe that the government can have an Apple store-like experience — beautifully designed, great user experience, modern systems,” Gebbia said.
Musk also addressed recent attacks on Tesla locations, which Attorney General Pam Bondi has labeled “domestic terrorism.” Musk blamed “far left” propaganda in the media and their Democratic Party supporters.
“What’s happening it seems to me is they’re being fed propaganda by the far left and they believe it,” Musk said. “The real problem is not the crazy guy that fire bombs a Tesla dealership. It’s the people pushing the propaganda that caused that guy to do it. Those are the real villains here, and we’re going to go after them.”
Critics, primarily Democrats and unions, continue to challenge many DOGE initiatives, and have tied up several in court. Musk dismissed these objections, claiming critics “never attack any of the specifics” and suggesting those who complain “the loudest and with the most amount of fake righteous indignation” are the ones who want to keep the fraud going.
“Are we going to get a lot of complaints along the way? Absolutely,” Musk acknowledged. “The reason we’re doing this is because if we don’t do it, America is going to go insolvent and go bankrupt, and nobody’s going to get anything.”
Take a look at the full interview —
Bret Baier full interview with Elon Musk and DOGE Team in studio.
THIS IS OUTSTANDING.pic.twitter.com/9TI0aODBt3
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) March 27, 2025