Elon Musk Says US Needs to 'Delete Entire Agencies' From Federal Government as Part of His Push to Cut Spending

Musk's comments come as he consolidates his control over key governmental functions with Trump's backing. Since assuming leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk has sidelined career officials, accessed sensitive databases and prompted legal debate over presidential authority. His remarks align with Trump's broader efforts to overhaul U.S. governance, reducing the role of federal agencies and shifting toward a more insular foreign policy. Musk singled out USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy, questioning their effectiveness. "How much democracy have they achieved lately?" Musk asked of the latter. He also echoed Trump's approach to foreign policy, stating the U.S. is "less interested in interfering with the affairs of other countries."

Elon Musk called on Thursday for the United States to “delete entire agencies” from the federal government as part of his push under President Donald Trump to radically cut spending and restructure its priorities. Musk offered a wide-ranging survey via a videocall to the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, of what he described as the priorities of the Trump administration interspersed with multiple references to “thermonuclear warfare” and the possible dangers of artificial intelligence. “We really have here rule of the bureaucracy as opposed to rule of the people — democracy,” Musk said, wearing a black T-shirt that read: “Tech Support.” He also joked that he was the “White House’s tech support,” borrowing from his profile on the social platform X, which he owns. “I think we do need to delete entire agencies as opposed to leave a lot of them behind,” Musk said. “If we don’t remove the roots of the weed, then it’s easy for the weed to grow back.”

Elon Musk’s plans for government efficiency just got a whole lot bigger: He says he’ll need to delete entire agencies in order to achieve his goal in the long term. Speaking at the 2025 World Governments Summit in Dubai, Musk was asked about how his cost-slashing actions in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will be maintained under future administrations. “I think we do need to delete entire agencies as opposed to leave part of them behind,” the billionaire Tesla boss said. “If you leave part of them behind… it’s kind of like leaving a weed. If you don’t remove the roots of the weed then easy for the weed to grow back. “But if you remove the roots of the weed, it doesn’t stop weeds from ever growing back but it makes it harder. We have to really delete entire agencies—many of them.” The richest man on the planet said in the next election cycle some of the agencies and headcount he is planning to cull could be brought back, “but it’ll be from a much lower baseline.”