Elon Musk was deployed to CIA headquarters on Monday as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s mission to cut, cut, cut.
The intelligence-gathering agency is the latest target of massive proposed cuts being enacted across the government.
CIA director John Ratcliffe, who invited Musk in, told President Donald Trump’s advisor that the Agency is “unique” and shouldn’t be compared to other government agencies.
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Ratcliffe has been working to shrink the agency’s size and is reported to be considering a wider reorganization. The Agency already has an internal DOGE team formed after President Donald Trump’s executive order that has been working “for weeks.”
Musk, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO, met Ratcliffe, deputy director Michael Ellis, and a group of senior staffers to discuss how DOGE cuts to other departments could be applied to the Agency without compromising national security.
Technology and the need to use taxpayers dollars “wisely and appropriately” was also reportedly discussed during the meeting.
In his pursuit of cuts, Musk has had unlimited access to most government agency databases, but he will not have unlimited access to the CIA’s databases because much of the information is top secret.
Monday’s meeting marks Musk’s first visit to the CIA since the establishment of DOGE. He has already been snooping inside the National Security Agency.
The meeting came as a federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from firing CIA and Office of Director of National Intelligence staffers working in DEI roles.
U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga issued a preliminary injunction which allows affected personnel to continue to be paid while they seek alternatives roles within the agency or appeal the termination. The ruling affects 51 CIA officers.
Several dozen DEI staffers were told in February they would be terminated. Employees faced a 5 p.m. deadline on Monday to resign or be fired.
“The plaintiffs face termination without any suggestion of wrongdoing or poor performance,” Trenga of the Eastern District of Virginia said.
“Simply requiring the government to follow its regulations is a minimal burden.”
DEI employees can still be fired, Trenga said, but not until he has received a “report” on the outcome of their appeal and efforts to get reassigned.
The CIA has already terminated around 80 people on probation.
Ratcliffe said last week that Musk and DOGE had “zero” effect on decisions around CIA staffing to date.
Musk and DOGE have drawn criticism for their aggressive tactics to shrink government departments and agencies.
