Trump defends Musk and says Doge will look at military spending

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.

“He’s not gaining anything. In fact, I wonder how he can devote the time to it,” Trump said Sunday.

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”.

“Let’s check the military,” he said. “We’re going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse, and the people elected me on that.”

Earlier on Sunday, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News he “welcomes” Doge putting military spending under the microscope.

“When we spend dollars, we need to know where they’re going and why, and that has not existed at the defence department,” he said.

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.

“Our courts are working as they should,” Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar told CBS’s Face the Nation. “What is not working is the way that the executive branch is behaving.”

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy says Musk “stands to gain from the closure of USAID”.

“It makes America much less safe around the world, but it helps China,” Murphy told ABC News. “Elon Musk has many major business interests at stake inside Beijing.”

Murphy called the Trump administration’s actions “the most serious constitutional crisis” since the Watergate scandal.

“The president is attempting to seize control of power and for corrupt purposes,” he claimed.

Trump’s interview restarted a tradition dating back about 20 years. The presidential interview has been absent from the Super Bowl pre-game for the last two editions after former President Joe Biden twice declined to appear.

President Trump himself refused to talk to NBC in 2018. This year he becomes the first US president to watch the game in person.

Fox News anchor Baier asked Trump about the differences between his second presidency and taking office for the first time in 2017.

“I had tremendous opposition [last time], but I didn’t know people and I didn’t have the kind of support I needed,” Trump said. “I was a New York person, not a [Washington] DC person.”

In response to a question about Canada, Trump said US trade deficits would justify annexation.

“I think Canada would be much better off being a 51st state, because we lose $200bn a year with Canada. And I’m not going to let that happen. It’s too much,” he said. “Now, if they’re a 51st state, I don’t mind doing it.”

Administration officials have previously said the figure of $200bn includes both defence spending and the US trade deficit.

When asked if Canada and Mexico had satisfied the demands which led to tariff threats, Trump responded: “No, it’s not good enough. Something has to happen, it’s not sustainable.”

The president also praised both Super Bowl teams and ultimately picked Kansas City to win the championship.