Elon Musk and Donald Trump have seemingly clashed once again after the former has tried to hire non-US citizens for his Department of Government Efficiency, with the president offering a 'damning' response to the news.
Multiple reports have confirmed how close Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump have become since the richest man in the world joined the election trail, and this strong relationship has resulted in the creation of a new private advisory board: the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE for short.
Led by Musk, DOGE is tasked with 'cutting the fat' from a bloated federal budget, with a target of $2,000,000,000,000 in the agency's sights before it officially expires in 2026.
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This has led to the team working around the clock with 120-hour seven-day weeks supported by high-tech 'sleep pods', despite the fact that Musk himself has claimed that the highly-emphasized goal isn't actually that realistic.
Supporting Musk's goal at the White House is a relatively small team of software developers, including one who managed to solve a 2,000-year-old mystery, but arguments have began in the Oval Office after DOGE attempted to hire a non-US citizen.
This isn't the first time that Trump and Musk have clashed in recent memory, with disputes surrounding payment approval and one particularly bitter decade-old feud, but this recent spat could signal that the relationship isn't as strong as previously thought.
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As reported by The Atlantic, Musk's request to hire Turkish-born Baris Akis - who does have a green card - was met with an "unequivocal no" from Trump's advisors, indicating that hiring Akis would send a 'confusing message' for an administration focused heavily on deportation.
On top of this, it's generally understood that non-US citizens are prohibited from working in government, so this would have proven to be an exception in most cases, even with DOGE's complicated legal standing.
It is understood that Musk 'accepted' the rejection and has since moved on, but it illustrates that the power dynamic between the two big personalities isn't exactly as balanced as one side perhaps hoped it would be.
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Previous reports outlined in the Independent signal that past interactions between the two have left Trump '100% annoyed' with Musk, especially after failed budget pushes in December 2024 saw some coin the term 'President Musk' due to the billionaires social media lobbying.
It continues to be a fascinating relationship to look at from the outside and it only seems like a matter of time before things reach breaking point, but things are still going Musk's way at the moment as DOGE tears through key federal departments.