Elon Musk claims 'getting death threats' over federal cuts; Trump says he's 'sacrificing a lot'

Tech billionaire Elon Musk took centre stage at President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet meeting of his new term Wednesday, warning of dire financial consequences if his cost-cutting measures fail and claiming he has received numerous death threats.

Musk, wearing a black “Make America Great Again” hat, described his role as “humble tech support” for the federal government in his capacity as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

“We simply cannot sustain, as a country, $2 trillion deficits,” Musk said, claiming that interest payments on the national debt now exceed annual defence spending. “If this continues, the country will become de facto bankrupt.”

“That’s the reason I’m here and taking a lot of flak and getting a lot of death threats, by the way. I can, like, stack them up,” he added.

Trump allowed Musk to dominate much of the meeting and praised his work, saying his team had uncovered “horrible things” within the government.

“He’s sacrificing a lot,” Trump said, referring to Musk’s time away from his many business ventures. “He’s also getting hit.”

Musk’s aggressive cost-cutting measures have already ignited controversy. Over the weekend, federal employees received an email from the Office of Personnel Management instructing them to submit detailed reports of their work by late Monday.

Musk took to his social media platform, X, to declare that failure to comply would be considered a resignation—though the email itself did not mention termination.

The directive was met with resistance, as agencies scrambled to interpret the order. The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal workers’ union, called the demand illegal and vowed to challenge it in court.

Musk defended the measure, calling it “a very basic pulse check.” He alleged that fraudulent employees—including non-existent individuals and even the deceased—were collecting paychecks.

The turmoil comes amid Musk’s sweeping efforts to downsize the federal workforce. Since the administration took office, DOGE has laid off more than 20,000 employees and offered buyouts to another 75,000, affecting key agencies from the Defense Department to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.