Billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk was at the Pentagon Friday, where he met with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to speak about cost reductions at the Department of Defense.
President Donald Trump said Friday the government would set certain limits on Musk's access at the Pentagon. He denied reports that Musk would be made privy to details of war scenarios that the Pentagon maintains in the event of a conflict with China.
"Elon has businesses in China," President Trump said. "And he would be susceptible, perhaps, to that."
Secretary Hegseth said Musk had visited the Pentagon "to talk about efficiencies, to talk about innovations."
Musk didn't share details of his visit with reporters and did not address questions about China. According to video of his visit he at one point told Hegseth he would do "anything that could be helpful."
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Musk, whose company SpaceX receives billions of dollars in government contracts for space launches, leads the so-called Department of Government efficiency, an informal agency which President Donald Trump has tasked with trimming $1 trillion from government spending.
The Pentagon is seeking to cut as much as 8% of its budget, or more than $65 billion, based on 2024 appropriations. Officials said earlier this week cuts would include as many as 60,000 civilian roles at the Defense Department.
