White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed media outlets and Democrats on Wednesday, accusing them of trying to turn Trump administration officials against each other through mischaracterizations and false information.
During a Thursday press conference, a reporter asked Leavitt if tech titan Elon Musk, who is heading up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) audits of the federal bureaucracy, has the “power of the presidency.”
Leavitt called the question “utterly ridiculous.”
“Elon Musk is serving at the pleasure of the president, just like everybody else on this team. He takes directives directly from the President of the United States, and I think some of the comments that you referred to are nothing more than a failed attempt from the media and from Democrats to try to sow division in this White House,” Leavitt said.
“We saw them do it in the first term. We’re not going to let them do it in the second term. This is a unified team who is working at the pleasure of the president to do what’s right for the American people,” she added.
Musk has been hammered by Democratic lawmakers and critics in the media for his efforts to cut down redundancy and improve efficiency in the bureaucracy while ensuring spending priorities align with President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Trump appears pleased with Musk and DOGE. On Tuesday, the president signed an executive order expanding Musk’s authority with more oversight over the federal government.
The order directs federal agencies to “coordinate and consult” with DOGE while hiring more employees, as well as to limit hiring needs to “essential positions.” The order promised to further the president’s aim to “significantly reduce the size of government.”
Musk joined Trump in the Oval Office for the signing and took questions from the press. Musk touted DOGE’s work and stressed the importance of auditing the federal bureaucracy.
“If there’s not a good feedback loop from the people to the government, and if you have rule of the bureaucrat, if the bureaucracy is in charge, then what meaning does democracy actually have?” Musk asked. “If the people cannot vote and have their will be decided by their elected representatives in the form of the president and the Senate and the House, then we don’t live in a democracy; we live in a bureaucracy.”
