President Donald Trump announced [1] Friday that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative will expand its review of federal spending to include the Pentagon and the Department of Education, following significant cuts at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Speaking at a joint White House press conference with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Trump defended the initiative and criticized those opposing the cost-cutting measures.
“Pentagon, Education, just about everything. We’re going to go through everything,” Trump said.
Referring to the large-scale headcount reductions at USAID set to take effect at 11:59 p.m. Friday, Trump reiterated that spending cuts will continue across the government.
“It was so bad, with what we just went through—with this horrible situation we just went through, and I guess 97% of the people have been dismissed,” Trump stated.
He went on to say that he had directed Musk’s team to investigate the Department of Education and the Pentagon, emphasizing the potential for wasteful spending at both agencies.
“It was very, very unfortunate. You’re not going to find anything like that, but you’re going to find a lot. And I’ve instructed him to go check out Education, to check out the Pentagon, which is the military. And you know, sadly, you’ll find some things that are pretty bad,” he added.
The Pentagon represents the largest share of federal discretionary spending, and past investigations have uncovered infamous overpayments, including a $10,000 purchase for toilet seat covers for Air Force cargo planes, which was discontinued in 2018 after public backlash.
Trump indicated that while spending reductions at the Department of Defense might not be as drastic as those at USAID, there is still room for major cuts.
“I don’t think proportionally you’re going to see anything like we just saw,” Trump said, referring to the USAID staffing and grant reductions.
Musk’s DOGE initiative has been conducting extensive spending reviews across multiple agencies, with Musk frequently highlighting examples of alleged waste and mismanagement on X (formerly Twitter).
Trump reinforced his support for Musk’s efforts during an Oval Office meeting earlier Friday, calling USAID’s spending “corrupt or ridiculous” and claiming “the whole thing is a fraud.”
“Elon is doing a great job. He’s finding tremendous fraud and corruption and waste,” Trump said, providing further details on how DOGE operates.
“I’ll tell him to go here or there, and he does it,” Trump explained.
“He’s got a very capable group of people… They’ll ask questions and they’ll see immediately, if somebody gets tongue-tied, that they’re either crooked or don’t know what they’re doing.”
The president also outlined his direct approach to identifying waste, stating:
“I will pick out a target and I’ll say, ‘Go in.’ There could be areas that we don’t, but I think everything’s fertile. You know, we’re a government. We have to be open.”
During the press conference, Trump reaffirmed that Social Security benefits would not be affected by these spending reviews.
“Social Security will not be touched,” Trump stated.
However, he clarified that illegal immigrants found to be receiving benefits would be cut off under the administration’s reforms.
“Social Security will not be touched, it will only be strengthened,” says President Trump.
“We have illegal immigrants on Social Security and we’re going to find out who they are and take them off… we’re not going to stand for that.” pic.twitter.com/WNFD1qBzIP [3]
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 7, 2025 [4]
As reports circulated that DOGE would soon focus on the Department of Education, Democratic lawmakers protested outside the agency’s headquarters Friday afternoon.
Asked about the protests, Trump dismissed the critics, singling out Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) in his response.
“I see Maxine Waters, a low-life, I see all these people, they don’t love our country,” Trump said.
With Musk’s government efficiency initiative expanding its scope, further budget reviews and potential agency cuts are expected in the coming weeks.