Musk: ‘Delete Entire Agencies’ From Federal Government

On Thursday, Elon Musk stated bluntly that President Donald Trump should “delete entire agencies” from the U.S. government.

Speaking on a video call to the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Musk criticized the way the federal government had worked prior to the inception of the Trump administration, saying, “We really have here rule of the bureaucracy as opposed to rule of the people – democracy.”

“I think we do need to delete entire agencies as opposed to leave a lot of them behind,” he continued. “If we don’t remove the roots of the weed, then it’s easy for the weed to grow back.”

On Tuesday, President Trump signed an executive order to give the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project more oversight of the federal government workforce.

Under Trump’s order, the heads of federal agencies are directed to “coordinate and consult” with DOGE in the hiring process and to “limit hiring to essential positions.” The order promises to “significantly reduce the size of government,” an effort the Trump administration has already begun by gutting the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and turning its sights on eliminating the Department of Education, a promise Trump made on the campaign trail.

On Wednesday, President Trump called for the elimination of the Department of Education, which had been approved by the Carter administration in 1980. Before that, the federal government had the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, but the Carter administration split that into the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services.

“Oh, I’d like it to be closed immediately. Look at the Department of Education; it’s a big con job,” Trump declared. “They ranked the top countries in the world. We’re ranked No. 40, but we’re ranked No. 1 in one department: cost per pupil. So, we spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, but we’re ranked No. 40.”

This week, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) X account posted that the Department of Education had canceled more than $100 million in grants to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training. The DOGE post stated, “Today, the Department of Education terminated 29 DEI training grants totaling $101mm. One sought to train teachers to ‘help students understand/interrogate the complex histories involved in oppression, and help students recognize areas of privilege and power on an individual and collective basis.’”

Today, the Department of Education terminated 29 DEI training grants totaling $101mm.

One sought to train teachers to “help students understand / interrogate the complex histories involved in oppression, and help students recognize areas of privilege and power on an individual…

— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) February 11, 2025

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