Commerce Secretary Critiques Musk’s Leadership at Government Efficiency Department

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick criticized Elon Musk‘s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) during an interview that aired Friday on “The Axios Show.” Lutnick, who previously supported Musk, expressed disappointment over the billionaire’s approach to company layoffs.

Lutnick stated that Musk applied his controversial management style from Tesla and X (formerly Twitter) to DOGE, where he cut 80% of staff without focusing on reducing waste. “I thought Elon got caught up in other people’s objectives,” Lutnick said. “The focus should have been on cutting the waste, fraud, and abuse and the people you could do over time. I thought he got that backward.”

The Secretary argued that government spending could be reduced by 10% to 15%, though he preferred a methodical approach where cabinet secretaries assess their departments thoroughly. He highlighted a Biden-era program that allocated $7.4 billion for semiconductor research as an example of government inefficiency, labeling it as “waste, fraud, and abuse.”

Previously, Lutnick had been a close ally of Musk, contributing to his placement at DOGE in January 2025 after President Donald Trump took office. During his time there, Musk aimed to eliminate up to $2 trillion in federal spending, but he departed after revealing frustrations related to the initiative’s trajectory and impact.

Under Musk’s leadership, DOGE recorded approximately $206 billion in savings through various methods such as contract cancellations, fraud detection, and workforce reductions, but the lofty goals set earlier were not met. Despite this, Lutnick remains optimistic about DOGE’s current management pursuing the original goals of targeting inefficiencies in government spending.

The Department of Commerce and representatives for Musk did not respond immediately to requests for comments regarding Lutnick’s statements.