By CHRIS MEGERIAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk pushed debunked theories about Social Safety on Monday whereas describing federal profit packages as rife with fraud, suggesting they are going to be a major goal in his campaign to cut back authorities spending.
The billionaire entrepreneur, who’s advising President Donald Trump, instructed that $500 billion to $700 billion in waste wanted to be minimize.
“Many of the federal spending is entitlements,” Musk instructed the Fox Enterprise Community. “That’s the large one to eradicate.”
The feedback on the favored program and different advantages offered to People might rattle politicians on each side of the aisle as Musk works to downsize the federal authorities, particularly as he already faces blowback for his chainsaw-wielding method to shedding staff and slashing packages.
Musk’s estimate for the extent of fraud in entitlements far outpaces figures from watchdogs like Social Safety’s inspector common, who beforehand mentioned there was $71.8 billion in improper funds from fiscal years 2015 by means of 2022. That’s lower than 1% of advantages paid out throughout that point interval.
Musk additionally mentioned there have been “20 million people who find themselves positively lifeless marked as alive within the Social Safety database.” Nevertheless, the chief of the company has rejected claims about widespread funds to lifeless individuals.
“These people aren’t essentially receiving advantages,” mentioned Lee Dudek, Social Safety’s performing commissioner.
The interview with Fox Enterprise was a reminder of Musk’s deep skepticism and even hostility towards this system, which gives month-to-month advantages to retirees and a few youngsters. Trump has promised to defend Social Safety from cuts, however Musk has described it as “the largest Ponzi scheme of all time,” and the administration is shutting down a few of the company’s workplaces.
Musk mentioned Monday that federal entitlements are “a mechanism by which the Democrats appeal to and retain unlawful immigrants by primarily paying them to come back right here after which turning them into voters.” The allegation echoed the “nice substitute” concept, which claims that politicians try to increase their energy by reshaping the nation’s racial demographics.
The interview was performed within the White Home advanced by Larry Kudlow, who served as an financial adviser to Trump throughout his first time period. Throughout the dialog, Musk appeared to acknowledge the bizarre nature of his position within the administration.
“Frankly, I can’t consider I’m right here doing this,” Musk mentioned. “It’s type of weird.”
Musk is the world’s richest particular person and nonetheless runs his non-public enterprises as he advises the president on methods to overtake the federal authorities.
He additionally thanked Trump for his confidence, saying, “With out the president’s assist, we couldn’t make any progress right here.”
Trump has publicly backed Musk and given him extraordinary affect over the federal authorities. Nevertheless, the Republican president has indicated a shift in method, saying that Musk’s workforce would use a “scalpel” fairly than a “hatchet.”
Musk has not usually spoken publicly since becoming a member of the administration, preferring as an alternative to current a stream of consciousness on X, his social media platform. On Monday, he accused Democrats of attacking Tesla dealerships; bragged about X being “the highest supply for information on Earth;” and accused Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a former fighter pilot and astronaut, of being a traitor for visiting Ukraine over the weekend.
Musk’s sitdown with Kudlow was his third interview since becoming a member of Trump’s administration, and he hasn’t strayed from his ideological protected house. He beforehand did a joint interview with the president and Sean Hannity of Fox Information, and he sat down with Joe Rogan, a podcaster who endorsed Trump final 12 months.
Republicans have spent many years making an attempt to cut back the scale and scope of the federal authorities, and lots of have cheered Musk’s work.
“The American individuals are sick of the swamp. They’re sick of waste, fraud and abuse,” mentioned Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, who leads the Nationwide Republican Congressional Committee. “For the primary time ever, we lastly have the instruments to have an effect on it. So I believe the voters are going to reward us.”
However there are indicators of backlash and skepticism. Some Republicans have even boasted of blocking finances cuts.
Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole issued a press release saying three federal workplaces in his state — the Nationwide Climate Middle in Norman, the Social Safety Administration Workplace in Lawton and the Indian Well being Providers Workplace in Oklahoma Metropolis — would keep open.
“I’m thrilled to announce that frequent sense has prevailed,” he mentioned. Cole added that “all three of those locations present important and beneficial providers to Oklahomans and I’m so proud to have advocated for them.”
About half of People mentioned it’s “a foul factor” that Trump has given Musk a distinguished position in his administration, based on a mid-February CNN/SSRS ballot. Solely a 3rd noticed it as “a superb factor.”
One other mid-February survey by The Washington Publish and Ipsos discovered that People had been divided on whether or not Musk is principally slicing wasteful spending or vital packages, with a couple of third falling into every camp. One other quarter mentioned they weren’t certain.
Initially Revealed: