WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump once again referred to billionaire Elon Musk as “Leon” while confirming that the tech mogul has access to the U.S. payments system as part of his role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
During an Oval Office event where Trump signed executive orders to establish a sovereign wealth fund, a reporter pressed him on why Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had granted Musk access to federal financial systems.
“Mr. President, why is it important for Elon Musk to have access to the payment systems at Treasury?” the reporter asked. Trump defended the decision, emphasizing Musk’s managerial skills.
“Well, he’s got access only to letting people go that he thinks are no good, if we agree with him,” Trump said. “He’s a very talented guy from the standpoint of management and costs. And we put him in charge of seeing what he could do with certain groups and certain numbers.”
Despite widespread fact-checks disputing the claim, Trump repeated an assertion that Musk had uncovered U.S. government spending of “a hundred million dollars on condoms to Hamas.” “But they’re finding tremendous amounts of really bad things, bad spending,” Trump continued.
“Leon — Elon can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval and we’ll give him the approval where appropriate.” Trump further praised Musk’s instincts, stating that his involvement would be monitored to avoid conflicts of interest.
“It’s something that he feels very strongly about, and I’m impressed because he’s running obviously a big company, has nothing to do if there’s a conflict that we won’t let him get near it,” Trump said. “But he does have a good natural instinct.”
He reiterated that Musk would not be allowed to interfere in areas where conflicts might arise. “Where we think there’s a conflict or there’s a problem, we won’t let him go near it,” Trump concluded.
Musk’s involvement in the Department of Government Efficiency has sparked debate, with some applauding his cost-cutting approach while others raise concerns about his influence over federal financial operations. The billionaire, known for his leadership at Tesla and SpaceX, has yet to publicly address Trump’s repeated misnaming of him as “Leon.”
As questions swirl over Musk’s role in U.S. government spending oversight, scrutiny over his access to federal payment systems is expected to continue, with critics calling for more transparency in the administration’s financial decision-making.