President Trump has defended Elon Musk’s drive to shut down sections of the US government amid legal challenges, transparency concerns and questions over conflicts of interest.
Democrats have accused Musk of personally benefiting from some of the changes that the Trump administration is trying to push through, such as the proposed closure of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Trump said Musk’s unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) would soon examine spending in the military and the Department of Education, possibly in the next “24 hours”.
Earlier on Sunday, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News he “welcomes” Doge putting military spending under the microscope.
Trump’s comments on Musk and Doge came from an interview with Fox News journalist Bret Baier during a pre-game broadcast leading up to Sunday’s Super Bowl.
During the interview, the president also said he was not satisfied with actions taken by Mexico and Canada on illegal drugs and border crossings.
He also said he was serious about his proposal to turn Canada into the 51st US state, an idea the wide majority of Canadians oppose.
Doge employees have entered several government departments since Trump took office and led the charge to try to shut down USAID.
In recent days, some Doge staffers have been spotted at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – an agency set up to protect consumers in the wake of the 2007-8 financial crisis.
CFPB employees in the bureau’s Washington office have been told to work from home for at least a week, according to an email seen by BBC News.
However Trump’s opponents have filed legal challenges to try to halt some of the changes and several of the president’s executive orders.
On Saturday, a federal judge blocked Doge from accessing the personal financial data of millions of Americans held in Treasury Department records.
US District Judge Paul Engelmayer ordered Musk and his team to immediately destroy any copies of records.
The Trump administration has not responded to requests about Doge’s activities, funding or the number of people it employs.
Courts have also paused Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship, a plan to put thousand of USAID staff on leave and a large buyout offer to federal employees.
Republicans including Vice President JD Vance criticised Engelmayer’s ruling. Vance alleged the injunction was illegal and wrote on X: “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”
Alina Habba, a Trump aide, told Fox News earlier Sunday that there would be “repercussions for people” trying to “step in Trump’s way”.
Democrats meanwhile stepped up their criticism of Musk and Trump, but with Republicans in control of the White House and Congress, they have little leverage outside of legal action.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy says Musk “stands to gain from the closure of USAID”.
Murphy called the Trump administration’s actions “the most serious constitutional crisis” since the Watergate scandal.
