Musk appears at White House defending DOGE's work but acknowledging mistakes

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's most powerful adviser, Elon Musk, made a rare public appearance at the White House on Tuesday to defend the swift and extensive cuts he's pushing across the federal government while acknowledging there have been mistakes and will be more.

Musk stood next to the Resolute Desk with his young son as Trump praised Musk's work with his Department of Government Efficiency, saying they've found “shocking” evidence of wasteful spending. The Republican president signed an executive order to expand Musk's influence and continue downsizing the federal workforce.

Despite concerns that he’s amassing unaccountable power with little transparency, Musk described himself as an open book as he took questions from reporters for the first time since joining the Trump administration as a special government employee. He joked that the scrutiny over his sprawling influence over federal agencies was like a “daily proctology exam."

He also claimed that DOGE's work was being shared on its website and on X, the social media platform owned by Musk. However, the DOGE website has no information, and the postings on X often lack many details, including which programs are being cut and where the organization has access.

The White House has also been moving to limit independent oversight. The inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development was fired a day after warning that it had become nearly impossible to monitor $8.2 billion in humanitarian funds after DOGE began dismantling the agency.

Musk defended DOGE's work as “common sense” and “not draconian or radical.”

“The people voted for major government reform, and that’s what the people are going to get,” he said. “That’s what democracy is all about.”

Musk acknowledged, in response to a question about false statements that the U.S. was spending $50 million on condoms for Gaza, that some of the claims he's made about government programs have been wrong.

“Some of the things that I say will be incorrect and should be corrected. So nobody can bat 1,000,” he said. He promised that he would act quickly to correct errors, and acknowledged that DOGE could be making errors as well.

“We are moving fast, so we will make mistakes, but we’ll also fix the mistakes very quickly,” Musk said.

He said there are some good people in the federal bureaucracy, but they need to be accountable. Musk described the workforce as an “unelected” fourth branch that had “more power than any elected representative.”

The executive order signed by Trump said a DOGE representative will need to approve almost all new hiring, a dramatic consolidation of personnel management across the federal government.

“The agency shall not fill any vacancies for career appointments that the DOGE Team Lead assesses should not be filled, unless the Agency Head determines the positions should be filled,” the order said.

In addition, the Office of Management and Budget will require that agencies “hire no more than one employee for every four employees that depart." There would be exceptions when it comes to immigration, law enforcement and public safety.

Agency leaders were also directed to plan for "large-scale reductions in force." Government functions not required by statute would be prioritized for elimination.

Trump and Musk are already pushing federal workers to resign in return for financial incentives, although their plan is currently on hold while a judge reviews its legality. The deferred resignation program, commonly described as a buyout, would allow employees to quit and still get paid until Sept. 30. Administration officials said more than 65,000 workers have taken the offer.

Hundreds of people gathered for a rally Tuesday across the street from the U.S. Capitol in support of federal workers.

Janet Connelly, a graphic designer with the Department of Energy, said she's fed up with emails from the Office of Personnel Management encouraging people to take the deferred resignation program.

She tried to use her spam settings to filter out the emails but to no avail. Connelly said she has no plans to take the offer.

“From the get-go, I didn’t trust it,” she said.

Connelly said she thinks of her work as trying to do an important service for the American public.

“It’s too easy to vilify us," she said.

Others have said fear and uncertainty have swept through the federal workforce.

“They’re worried about their jobs. They’re worried about their families. They’re also worried about their work and the communities they serve,” said Helen Bottcher, a former Environmental Protection Agency employee and current union leader in Seattle.

Bottcher participated in a press conference hosted by Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington.

Murray said workers “deserve better than to be threatened, intimidated and pushed out the door by Elon Musk and Donald Trump.” She also said that "we actually need these people to stay in their jobs or things are going to start breaking.”

A government lawyer, who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because of fears of retaliation, said it was a terrifying time to be a federal worker.

She said people are worried that their phones and computers are being monitored. She's a single mother with a young daughter, and her father is urging her to take a safer job in the private sector.

But she's skeptical of the deferred resignation program, emphasizing that accepting the offer means workers can't sue if they're not paid what they're promised.

The idea, she said, was insane.

Price reported from New York. Associated Press writers Martha Bellisle in Seattle, Rebecca Santana in Washington and Brian Witte in Annapolis, Md., contributed to this report.

Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

Elon Musk speaks during an event in the Oval Office as President Donald Trump and Musk's son X Æ A-Xii, listen at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as Elon Musk listens in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - Elon Musk speaks as part of a campaign town hall in support of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump in Folsom, Pa., Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

President Donald Trump gives thumbs up as Jordan's King Abdullah II departs the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

Sona Anderson of San Diego, center, shouts her support for civil service workers as activists protest the policies of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk outside the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — JuJu Watkins went down with a with a season-ending knee injury five minutes into Monday night's game. Top-seeded Southern California kept going without its star player, pummeling Mississippi State 96-59 to reach the Sweet 16 of the women's NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.

Watkins scored three points on free throws before injuring her right knee. The crowd went silent as she writhed in pain and clutched her knee while her teammates looked on helplessly and coach Lindsay Gottlieb rushed to her side. Watkins was carried off the floor by multiple people.

Her teammates were terrific in her absence. They kept their poise while building leads of 28-8 after one quarter, 50-27 at halftime and 75-42 after three. The Trojans hit buzzer-beaters to end each of the first three quarters and they celebrated by jumping around on the court.

Kiki Iriafen, a Stanford graduate transfer, scored a season-high 36 points on 16-of-22 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. She left with 6:29 remaining and the crowd chanting, “Kiki! Kiki!” Freshman Avery Howell added 18 points, hitting four 3-pointers.

“What a performance by this group,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “You never want anyone to go down, especially someone like JuJu that we all lean on in so many ways, but this team rallied. They rallied for her, they rallied for each other, our fans had our back. I'm just really proud and I think we showed what kind of team we are.”

The Bulldogs were led by Jerkaila Jordan with 17 points.

“My prayers and thoughts are with JuJu,” MSU coach Sam Purcell said. “I'm hoping the best for her because she's special.”

The Trojans (30-3) were up 34 points in the third. Their fans loved it, getting on their feet and roaring, especially when Iriafen waved both arms in the air, urging them on.

“It's hard when you have such a key player not with you,” Iriafen said. “For us, it was just making sure we got the job done. We want our season to be extended.”

Mississippi State couldn't handle the bigger Trojans, who instead of being deflated without Watkins seemed hell-bent on punishing their opponent.

The Bulldogs (22-12) had more than just the Trojans to contend with. The home crowd, angered by the loss of one of the game's biggest stars, booed every time MSU touched the ball and their cheerleaders heard it, too, getting jeered during a halftime routine.

“It just shows how ride-or-die our fans are,” Iriafen said.

The victory keeps the Trojans on a potential collision course with Paige Bueckers and UConn in the regional final in Spokane, Washington. They got knocked out by the Huskies in last year's Elite Eight.

Losing Watkins early in the game gave the Trojans a chance to showcase their depth. They had five players in double figures, including three of their seven freshmen.

The Bulldogs are known for their defensive prowess, but USC forced them into 20 turnovers that led to 27 points for the Trojans.

The Trojans play fifth-seeded Kansas State (28-7) in the Spokane 4 regional semifinals on Saturday.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.

Southern California guard JuJu Watkins (12) reacts on the floor after an injury during the first half against Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)

Southern California guard JuJu Watkins (12) reacts on the floor after an injury during the first half against Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)