Many U.S. federal government agencies need to be completely dismantled as part of President Donald Trump’s policy for a radical overhaul of the American government, stated Elon Musk, the mastermind and executor of the plan.
Musk spoke about eliminating them outright “rather than leaving parts behind. Leaving parts behind is the easy route. It’s like leaving weeds,” he said in a video address to a panel at the World Government Summit 2025, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
“If you don’t uproot the weeds, they grow back easily. But if you pull out the root, it doesn’t necessarily stop them from returning—it just makes it harder,” he explained. “That’s why we really need to completely abolish many of these agencies,” he stressed.
Through an executive order signed on Tuesday, Trump has de facto granted the Committee on Government Efficiency (DOGE)—which Musk leads—veto power over public sector hiring, emphasizing that all hires must be made “in coordination” with the committee.
Musk’s team has already gained access to the Treasury Department’s sensitive payment system, before a judge blocked them on Saturday.
“What we’re witnessing here is the dominance of bureaucracy instead of the sovereignty of the people. We want to restore popular sovereignty. And that means reducing the size of the federal government—essentially cutting back regulations,” Musk said to the World Government Summit audience.
Musk has already dismantled two U.S. government agencies—USAID, which provides humanitarian assistance to people in need worldwide, and another entity responsible for protecting Americans from predatory lenders, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The billionaire openly dismisses government officials, labeling them as unelected bureaucrats who are not accountable to American taxpayers.
Trump stated that the owner of SpaceX, Tesla, and X will be exempt from any conflicts of interest between his various business ventures and his efforts to cut costs for the federal government.
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