‘America will go bankrupt’: Elon Musk defends DOGE cuts at Trump Cabinet meeting

Musk, who jokingly referred to himself as “tech support,” noted that much of DOGE’s work involves fixing outdated government computer systems prone to errors. However, he stressed that the department’s primary objective is to “help address the enormous deficit.”

“We simply cannot sustain as a country a $2 trillion deficit. Just the interest on the national debt now exceeds the Defense Department spending,” Musk stated. “If this continues, the country will become de facto bankrupt. It’s not an optional thing, it is an essential thing. That’s the reason I’m here.”

Musk acknowledged the amount of blowback he has received for his efforts with DOGE but reiterated, “If we don’t do this, America will go bankrupt. That’s why it has to be done.”

Trump has been fully supportive of Musk and DOGE’s efforts to cut government spending, even telling Musk to be more aggressive. During the cabinet meeting, Trump explained that he wants DOGE to save the government $1 trillion.

"We're looking to get it maybe to $1 trillion, if we can do that. We're going to start getting to be at a point where we can think in terms of balancing budgets," Trump said. "And that's a big -- whether it's this year or next year, I think we'll be very close to balancing budgets."

On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order aimed at further cutting government costs. The order requires agencies to justify all payments and travel expenses, which will now be publicly posted. It also mandates that agencies work with DOGE to eliminate or modify unnecessary contracts. Additionally, all government-issued credit cards will be frozen for 30 days unless being used for disaster relief or other critical services.