As the U.S. government faces another potential shutdown, a single emoji from Elon Musk has sprouted a new cause for concern, since it implies what he thinks should happen to furloughed workers.

The latest development stemmed from White House correspondent journalist, Natalie Winters, who took to social media to drop her post on X (formerly Twitter) – asking: “If the government shuts down, what if we just never brought most furloughed workers back?”.

After Musk noticed the post, his response was as short as it could be, merely replying with the above thinking-face emoji.

While it might not seem like much, but coming from the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X itself, it’s more than enough to raise eyebrows. That’s because as the leader of DOGE — President Donald Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency — billionaire Elon Musk has been looking for ways to cut as much spending on the federal level as possible.

Following a government shutdown looming, new sources have revealed this is exactly what Musk wants, in order to make the slashing of government jobs far easier, and has even been supporting it behind the scenes.

According to Wired, multiple sources say Musk sees a shutdown as a way to cut down the federal workforce permanently — essentially stopping many furloughed employees from ever coming back.

One Republican insider said: “A shutdown has been his preference,” one Republican insider told the outlet, claiming Musk’s stance has him “boxed in there” by President Trump.

Another source went further, saying:

“You know none of this is about saving money, right? It’s all about destroying a liberal power base.”

The report also highlights how Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has already been working to trim down federal jobs, supposedly eliminating tens of thousands of positions. A shutdown could accelerate those efforts.

Elon Musk at Donald Trump’s inauguration (Getty Images)

If the US government does shut down, thousands of federal employees would be temporarily out of work. Essential services, such as law enforcement and Social Security payments, would continue, but many agencies would be forced to pause operations.

Historically, government shutdowns have been temporary disruptions, with furloughed workers returning once a budget deal is reached. But Wired’s report suggests Musk and some conservatives may see this as a chance to make the cuts permanent.

There’s already concern among federal employees about how a shutdown could impact them long-term. One anonymous State Department worker told Wired:

“There are concerns anyone deemed nonessential will be DOGE’d.”

In other words, some fear that if they’re furloughed now, they may never get their jobs back.

Musk’s past comments suggest he has little sympathy for government jobs that he sees as unnecessary. According to The New Yorker earlier this month, Musk told reporters in February:

“If the job is not essential, or they are not doing it well, they obviously shouldn’t be on the public payroll.”

While some may argue he’s simply questioning inefficiencies like he has with his own companies, Musk’s attitude will likely only fuel concerns that he’s trying to reshape the federal government to fit his own vision.

Elon Musk has revealed a ‘gigantic loophole’ that he says has opened the door for major fraud in government.

Despite continued questions about how much power Elon Musk should be allowed to wield in the US government, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere. With some joking he’s the Vice President instead of JD Vance, others have gone one step further and branded him President Musk. The tech billionaire’s involvement in US affairs is a major point of contention, with someone even hijacking screens at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development with a NSFW AI video that depicted President Donald Trump sucking Musk’s toes and referred to him as the ‘real’ king.

Musk is dealing with the political and commercial backlash of heading up the DOGE, and in the same interview where he spectacularly claimed half a trillion dollars of fraud is lying in the Social Security system, he’s also gone on to call out the country’s biggest ‘loophole’ when it comes to unnecessary spending.

Protests against Musk and the DOGE continue (Pacific Press / Contributor / Getty)

Explaining to Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow how the DOGE team just ‘follow the money’ and the POTUS’ executive orders, Musk maintains that this brought USAID onto his radar. He called out the amount of money being sent to non-governmental organizations, adding: “This, by the way, is I think one of the biggest sources of fraud in the world.

“Government-funded, non-governmental organizations. This is a gigantic fraud loophole where the government can give money to an NGO, and then there are no controls over that NGO.”

Musk claims that NGOs are given ‘tens of billions’ of dollars, and, referring to them as ‘essentially scams’, vowed to put a stop to them.

Kudlow said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accepted over 80% of Musk’s recommendations when it comes to making cuts at USAID, praising the world’s richest man as being ‘spot on’.

Others remain unconvinced, with the DOGE awkwardly having to alter the numbers on its own ‘wall of receipts’ due to inaccuracies.

The site remains unchanged since its last update, claiming it’s already saved $105 billion.

He went on to defend the DOGE, concluding: “When we receive criticism, we ask, ‘About what? Which line do you disagree with?’ Every action taken by the DOGE team is shared on the DOGE handle. It’s fully transparent, line by line.”

Musk’s vendetta continues, and in the fiscal year 2023, USAID oversaw around $40 billion in appropriations. This is said to be less than 1% of the federal budget.

Now, Rubio has axed 83% of programs funded by USAID and put its 10,000 employees around the globe at risk. Similar to Musk, Rubio defended the move and said: “The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States.”

The cuts continue, with the Inter-American Foundation reporting that its workforce has been slashed from around 48 employees to the ‘statutory minimum’ of just one because of the DOGE.

Whether it can be proven that NGOs are a loophole or not, Musk’s chainsaw crusade against them shows no sign of letting up.

Elon Musk’s DOGE has been ordered to name all employees and expose its government plan by a judge.

Under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk has spent the last two months hacking away at the federal spending budget by canceling contracts and making mass layoffs.

The tech mogul has found himself at the center of President Trump’s administration as his ‘first buddy’.

Elon Musk has three weeks to hand over DOGE information to the judge (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

However, while concerns from the public have grown over what Musk’s plans for government might be, a federal judge has now ruled that this can no longer be concealed.

The judge has ordered the Tesla boss to name all of DOGE’s employees as well as its government plan.

US District Judge Tanya Chutkan made the ruling which compels Musk to provide certain information about his government dealings.

The unelected advisor to the president has just three weeks to provide Chutkan with the information she has requested.

Afterwards, the judge will make a decision on whether or not to block DOGE’s operations completely.

The eight page court filing included six interrogatories, with the first reading: “Identify every individual who has served as DOGE Administrator or as the functional head of DOGE, including in an acting capacity, since January 20, 2025, and the dates served in that capacity.

“As part of this response, identify all individuals with authority to hire or terminate employment of DOGE personnel since January 20, 2025.”

Elon Musk has been heading up DOGE since January (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

As well as requests for admission, including the following: “Admit that Elon Musk is not supervised by any Officer of the United States other than the President of the United States.”

Despite not being voted in by the public, Musk has been heading up DOGE since January, with its mission to streamline the US government through plans to axe thousands of jobs and drastically reduce the wage bill.

Once it has finished its mission, Musk has vowed to disband the department – setting a completion date of no later than July 4, 2026… Independence Day next year.

As Trump puts it, their primary objective is to ‘dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies’.

The initiative has already engaged in mass layoffs across the country, overseen the removal of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) programs, and it has made sizable cuts to the Department of Education.

Additionally, 1,600 employees at USAID (United States Agency for International Development), have been fired, and a further 4,200 workers have been placed on leave.

DOGE is determined to cut the workforce from around 10,000 employees to roughly 500.

Senator Mark Kelly has issued a scathing response to Elon Musk’s comment labeling him a ‘traitor’ following a visit to Ukraine.

It looks like Elon Musk could do with a hand making friends, and after branding ESA astronaut Andreas Morgensen an ‘idiot’, the world’s richest man has now painted a target on Senator Mark Kelly‘s back. The Democrat and former US navy pilot has come under fire from Musk after he visited Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian officials and wounded service members.

Kelly is the Democrat senator for Arizona, making his third visit to the Ukrainian capital since 2023 in early March. This didn’t sit well with Musk, and in the aftermath of a disastrous White House visit from President Volodymyr Zelensky, tensions are running high.

Musk notably called Zelensky ‘evil’ and claimed the President was looking for a ‘forever war’.

Posting on X following his latest visit, Kelly said: “What I saw proved to me we can’t give up on the Ukrainian people.”

There’s a continued backlash to Musk’s role in the government (Kayla Bartkowski / Staff / Getty)

He goes against what President Donald Trump is currently pushing for, with Kelly calling for security guarantees in any peace deal that’s agreed: “Everyone wants this war to end, but any agreement has to protect Ukraine’s security and can’t be a giveaway to Putin.”

Kelly then called Russian President Vladimir Putin a ‘war criminal’, saying he regularly targets hospitals: “If Putin gains ground, he won’t agree to a ceasefire and will eventually threaten a NATO ally, and this puts American troops and the American people at risk.”

Although Kelly goes on to explain why it’s ‘important’ that we stand with Ukraine, it seems not everyone agrees. Responding to the post, Musk simply replied: “You are a traitor.”

It didn’t take Kelly long to fire back his own barbs, also replying on X as he said: “Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do.”

Kelly doubled down on his beef with Musk, telling reporters on Capitol Hill: “He’s slashed and burned the federal government to make room for a giant tax cut for billionaires like himself. I’ve sworn an oath to this country, I’ve flown in combat, I served in the Navy for 25 years.

“It appears to me the oath that Elon Musk stands by is the oath to billionaires to make their lives easier, not the American people, not veterans. He’s not a serious guy. He should go back to building rockets.”

This isn’t the first time Kelly and Musk have had a difference in opinion. Kelly and his twin brother, Scott, are both retired astronauts and were less than impressed about Musk’s attack on Morgensen. At the time, the senator wrote: “Hey @ElonMusk, when you finally get the nerve to climb into a rocket ship, come talk to the three of us.”

We’re sure it won’t be long until Musk response to Kelly’s jibe about the tech mogul sticking to making rockets.