WASHINGTON — The White House is pushing back on coverage of Elon Musk’s recent comments about cutting federal spending on entitlements, reiterating its pledge that President Donald Trump will not slash Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid while insisting Americans support his effort to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in benefit programs. 

What You Need To Know

  • The White House is pushing back on coverage of Elon Musk’s recent comments about cutting federal spending on entitlements, reiterating its pledge that President Donald Trump will not slash social security, Medicare or Medicaid 
  • White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at Tuesday’s press briefing that Musk’s remark that a “half trillion, maybe six, 700 billion” dollars in federal spending on benefit programs could be cut was simply an “estimate"
  • The billionaire entrepreneur, who is unofficially leading the DOGE effort and advising the president, told Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow in an interview on Monday that spending on federal benefit programs, which include those such as Social Security and Medicare, was a “big one to eliminate"

“He is going to protect Social Security and Medicare benefits, Medicaid, for hardworking Americans who paid into these entitlement programs and deserve those hard-earned benefits,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at Tuesday’s press briefing. “And unfortunately, the mainstream media has taken Mr. Musk out of context.”

Leavitt went on to assert that Musk’s remark that a “half trillion, maybe six, 700 billion” dollars in federal spending on benefit programs could be cut was simply an “estimate.”

“He's not saying definitively, he's saying that’s what DOGE suspects and thinks and that's exactly why DOGE was created – to ensure that we are investigating the fraudulent spending” she said, referencing Trump’s wide-reaching campaign, led by Musk, to downsize the federal workforce and slash government spending. 

Amid the focus on Musk's comments, the billionaire entrepreneur, who is unofficially leading the U.S. DOGE Service's effort and advising the president, told reporters on Tuesday that he was "going to be very careful with any interruption to benefits."

"In fact, only by tackling the waste and fraud in entitlements like Social Security, Medicare, can we actually preserve those programs for the future because with unchecked fraud and waste, we won't be able to afford them," he added. 

Musk's comment, seemingly more cautious in nature, came one day after he told Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow in an interview on Monday that spending on federal benefit programs, which include those such as Social Security and Medicare, was a “big one to eliminate.”

“Most of the federal spending is entitlements,” Musk said. “So that’s the big one to eliminate. That’s the sort of half-trillion, maybe six, 700 billion.” 

Leavitt went on to cite a 2024 report from the Office of the Inspector General showing the Social Security Administration estimates it made nearly $72 billion in improper payments from 2015 to 2022. The figure accounts for less than 1% of benefits paid out during that time period and is significantly below Musk’s half-trillion dollar calculation. 

“The president will continue to protect these programs,” Leavitt said, adding that “cutting the waste, fraud and abuse out of these programs will protect this program.”

The comments on the popular program and other benefits provided to Americans could rattle politicians on both sides of the aisle, especially as he already faces some concern for his approach to laying off workers and cutting programs.

Trump has promised to defend Social Security from cuts, but Musk has described it as “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time,” and the administration is shutting down some of the agency’s offices.

It comes as Democrats in Congress have sought to sound the alarm, claiming Republicans are seeking to slash the benefits, particularly through the blueprint the House GOP passed to implement Trump’s agenda on immigration, energy and tax cuts. Many have pointed to a report from the Congressional Budget Office last week that found Republicans cannot reach their spending cut goals as they laid out in their budget blueprint without cutting Medicaid. 

GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson has similarly said he will look to lead Congressional Republicans in cutting waste, fraud and abuse in the programs, which critics worry is just part of the effort to cut them. 

"Here's what he said during an interview with Fox Business: the richest man on Earth repeated again a bevy of lies that entitlement programs tens of millions of people rely on are riddled with fraud and abuse," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in reference to Musk on Tuesday. "That’s a pretext to slashing them, but it’s false."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.