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Ice cream from Trump and a ‘comically tiny office’: Inside Elon Musk’s wild 3 months getting DOGE rolling
Elon Musk says he saved the U.S. taxpayer more than $160 million during his first three months getting the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) off the ground — but he also enjoyed midnight snacks of ice cream from the White House kitchen, a «comically tiny office» and a friendship with President Donald Trump.
Fox News Digital was invited, along with a small group of reporters, to have an on-the-record discussion with Musk in the White House’s Roosevelt Room on Wednesday evening about his first 100 days as a special government employee.
That status allowed him to work for the federal government for «no more than 130 days in a 365-day period,» according to data from the Office of Government Ethics. Musk said the first 100 days was «an intense period» and said at times, he was in Washington, D.C., working on his DOGE efforts «7 days a week, or close to 7 days a week.»
Musk said he will cut that down to one or two days a week, or every other week, and will continue working for the Trump administration «at the discretion of the president.»
ELON MUSK RECEIVES APPLAUSE FROM CABINET AS HE BEGINS PLANNED DEPARTURE FROM DOGE ROLE
Elon Musk, left, and President Donald Trump talk about DOGE’s efforts to investigate wasteful U.S. government spending from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 11, 2025. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
«I’m willing to contribute one to two days a week, coming to D.C. every other week for one to three days—indefinitely, as long as the president wants me to do that,» Musk said. «It’s largely a volunteer organization.»
Musk, in response to a question from Fox News Digital, said he has slept in the White House’s Lincoln bedroom multiple times.
«I didn’t think I would ever sleep in there,» Musk said. «The president, we’re good friends, and we’ll be on Air Force One, or Marine One, and he’ll be like, ‘do you want to stay over?’ and I’ll be like, ‘sure,’ and he’ll send me to the Lincoln bedroom.»
Musk said he did not ever «request it,» but that Trump would always ask «‘do you want to stay here?’»
DOGE leader Elon Musk has been hit with 96% negative coverage on ABC, NBC and CBS evening newscasts, according to the Media Research Center. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
«And he gave me a tour of the Lincoln bedroom, and told me all the history,» Musk said.
SCOOP: DOGE CAUCUS PLANS WHITE HOUSE MEETING AS ELON MUSK PREPS TO STEP BACK
«And then, he’ll actually call me late night and say, ‘by the way, make sure you get ice cream from the kitchen,» Musk recalled. «I ate a whole tub of ice cream—caramel. Häagen-Dazs.»
Musk laughed, «Yeah, it’s epic.»
«Don’t tell RFK I ate a whole tub,» Musk laughed. «The president is a very good host, and he said, make sure you have some of the ice cream, and I said OK. I went to the kitchen and got some ice cream.»
When asked for the exact number of nights Musk slept in the Lincoln bedroom, he replied, «I don’t know if I should say the number—more than once.»
Musk was also given a small office in the White House, which he said he intends to keep.
«I’m keeping my micro-office,» Musk said, adding that it is «on the top floor it has a view of nothing.»
«It has a window but all you see is an HVAC unit,» Musk explained. «I guess it’s harder to shoot me—there’s not a good line of sight in there.»
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, right, speaks with then-former President Donald Trump during a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show on Oct. 5, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
«I like my comically tiny office upstairs,» Musk said, adding that, while it is tiny, he has «the biggest monitor,» where he views «important information—secret stuff.» Musk admitted, though, that he has «occasionally played a video game.»
When asked by Fox News Digital which video game, Musk laughed and said, «Diablo in the Path of Exile.»
As for DOGE, Musk said he is proud of its work so far, and «in the grand scheme of things, I think we’ve been effective,» just «not as effective as I’d like.»
«I think we could be more effective, but we’ve made progress —and more progress than I think has happened since Clinton and Gore,» Musk said. «It is ironic to see the Clinton and Gore speeches — they sound like DOGE. If you took a transcript and say who said it? DOGE or Clinton-Gore? You would have a hard time. They sound identical to what we say.»
He added, «We are just Democrats from the ’90s who got teleported into 2025.»
DOGE SLASHES ‘WASTEFUL’ ‘PROBLEM-SOLVING’ CONTRACT WORTH $50K IN LATEST ROUND OF ELIMINATIONS
«Things have just evolved. There is that classic saying, we didn’t leave the Democratic Party — the Democratic Party left us,» Musk continued. «Just, objectively, from a policy standpoint, that is just objectively true. Our goals are safe cities, secure borders, sensible spending—these used to be Democrat positions and perhaps they will be in the future — but they just seem like common sense.»
Meanwhile, Musk reflected on his day-to-day for the first 100 days, saying that things «have to be very intense for the first three months, so trying to understand what’s going on and map out the government in general.»
«The federal government is a gigantic beast — very complicated — and so if you’re trying to figure out how to stop waste and fraud, you’ve got to map the territory,» Musk said. «That required three months of intense effort, and you have to build the team as well.»
President Donald Trump, right, and White House senior advisor, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, depart after looking at Tesla vehicles on the South Lawn of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
«A new administration is like a start-up,» Musk continued. «Now, we’re getting more of a rhythm and so the amount of time necessary for me to spend here is much less and I can return to primarily running my companies, which do need me.»
Fox News Digital asked Musk if he has had fun during his first three months leading DOGE.
«It’s like, 60% fun. 70% fun — depends on the week,» Musk said. «But being attacked relentlessly is not super fun. Seeing cars burning is not fun. But when I feel like we’re doing good for the American taxpayer and stopping wasteful spending and fixing computer systems, I feel like that’s a good thing.»
A DOGE official at the meeting on Wednesday said that 1% of the federal workforce, or slightly more than 20,000 people, have been fired. However, that official stressed that the federal government has «hired 26,000 people.»
«So we have hired more people than we’ve fired,» the official said.
DOGE’S GREATEST HITS: LOOK BACK AT THE DEPARTMENT’S MOST HIGH-PROFILE CUTS DURING TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS
Musk chimed in and said, in America, «we actually want to have fewer people in the federal government and more people making things.»
Musk also told reporters that DOGE has referred cases of fraud to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.
«The wheels of justice turn slowly but, hopefully, surely,» Musk said. «When we find cases of fraud, we refer those cases to the DOJ — it is not DOGE prosecuting anyone.»
Musk said there are «hundreds of thousands of cases of what appear to be fraud,» but a DOGE official said they have referred, at this point, 57 cases of possible voter fraud to the DOJ.
President Donald Trump, right, is joined by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and his son, X Musk, during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 11, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Musk also said he will meet with the House DOGE caucus next week, and said his work with House and Senate lawmakers has been «extremely positive.»
At the end of the conversation, Musk laughed and said, «It is funny that we’ve got DOGE.»
«Are we in a simulation here? Or what’s going on? How did we get here?!» Musk laughed.
DAVID MARCUS: WHAT AMERICA OWES ELON MUSK AFTER DOGE
«I’m proud of the incredible work by the DOGE team who have taken a lot of flak and these are people who could easily get high-paying jobs in the private sector, and, in fact, came from high-paying jobs in the private sector,» Musk said.
DOGE has fewer than 100 employees.
«Some will stay on, some will not,» Musk said. «It is up to them. This is basically a volunteer organization.»
When asked if DOGE is winding down, Musk said, «No.»
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«DOGE is a way of life,» Musk said. «Like Buddhism. You wouldn’t ask who would lead Buddhism.»
When asked who would lead DOGE when Musk is not in Washington, Musk replied, «Is Buddha needed for Buddhism?»
Elon Musk,DOGE,White House,Donald Trump
INTERNACIONAL
Rusia y Ucrania concluyeron su primera jornada de diálogo en Ginebra sin avances tras horas de “negociaciones muy tensas”
Negociadores ucranianos y rusos concluyeron este martes el primero de dos días de conversaciones de paz mediadas por Estados Unidos en Ginebra, aunque ninguna de las partes dio señales de estar más cerca de poner fin al conflicto más mortífero en Europa desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Las negociaciones se reanudarán el miércoles.
Estados Unidos ha estado presionando para que se ponga fin a la guerra de casi cuatro años, pero no ha logrado mediar un compromiso entre Moscú y Kiev sobre el tema clave del territorio.
Dos rondas previas de negociación entre ambas partes en Abu Dabi no lograron producir un avance significativo.
Las últimas conversaciones “fueron muy tensas”, dijo una fuente cercana a la delegación rusa.
REUTERS/Nina Liashonok
“Duraron seis horas. Ya han concluido”, añadió la fuente, hablando bajo condición de anonimato.
El presidente ucraniano, Volodimir Zelensky, dijo en su discurso vespertino que estaba listo “para avanzar rápidamente hacia un acuerdo digno que ponga fin a la guerra”, pero cuestionó si Rusia hablaba en serio sobre la paz.
“¿Qué es lo que quieren?”, añadió, acusándolos de priorizar los ataques con misiles sobre la “diplomacia real”.
Rusia lanzó su invasión a gran escala de Ucrania en febrero de 2022.
El conflicto resultante ha provocado una ola de destrucción que ha dejado ciudades enteras en ruinas, decenas de miles de soldados y civiles muertos y ha obligado a millones de personas a huir de sus hogares.
Consejo de Seguridad y Defensa de Ucrania / REUTERS
Zelensky ha dicho repetidamente que a su país se le está pidiendo que haga concesiones desproporcionadas en comparación con Rusia.
El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, presionó el lunes a Ucrania para que llegue a un acuerdo, diciendo que “más vale que vengan a la mesa, rápido”.
Rusia ocupa alrededor de una quinta parte de Ucrania —incluida la península de Crimea que se anexionó en 2014— y áreas que los separatistas respaldados por Moscú habían tomado antes de la invasión de 2022.
Está presionando por el control total de la región de Donetsk, al este de Ucrania, como parte de cualquier acuerdo, y ha amenazado con tomarla por la fuerza si las conversaciones fracasan.
Pero Kiev ha rechazado esta demanda profundamente impopular, que sería política y militarmente arriesgada, y ha señalado que no firmará un acuerdo sin garantías de seguridad que disuadan a Rusia de invadir de nuevo.
Ministerio de Defensa ruso/Folleto vía REUTERS
Rusia ha estado capturando territorio lentamente a lo largo de la extensa línea de frente durante meses.
Sin embargo, sus preocupaciones económicas en tiempos de guerra están aumentando, con un crecimiento estancado y un déficit presupuestario cada vez mayor a medida que los ingresos petroleros —asfixiados por las sanciones— caen a un mínimo de cinco años.
Las fuerzas ucranianas lograron recientemente sus avances más rápidos en dos años y medio, recuperando 201 kilómetros cuadrados la semana pasada, según un análisis de la AFP de los datos del Instituto para el Estudio de la Guerra (ISW).
Ese total incluye áreas que Kiev y los analistas militares dicen que están controladas por Rusia (72 kilómetros cuadrados), así como aquellas reclamadas por el ejército de Moscú (129 kilómetros cuadrados).
Los contraataques probablemente aprovecharon la interrupción del acceso de las fuerzas rusas a Starlink, dijo el ISW, después de que el jefe de la firma de internet satelital, Elon Musk, anunciara “medidas” para poner fin al uso de la tecnología por parte de Rusia.
REUTERS/Nina Liashonok
Para las conversaciones en Ginebra, el Kremlin reinstaló al halcón nacionalista y ex ministro de Cultura, Vladimir Medinsky, como su negociador principal.
El secretario de seguridad nacional ucraniano, Rustem Umerov, lideraba el bando de Kyiv.
Las esperanzas de un avance son bajas.
Incluso antes de que las conversaciones estuvieran en marcha, Ucrania acusó a Rusia de socavar los esfuerzos de paz al lanzar 29 misiles y 396 drones en una serie de ataques nocturnos que, según las autoridades, mataron al menos a cuatro personas, hirieron a otras y cortaron la electricidad a decenas de miles en el sur de Ucrania.
“La medida en que Rusia ignora los esfuerzos de paz: un ataque masivo con misiles y drones contra Ucrania justo antes de la próxima ronda de conversaciones en Ginebra”, escribió el ministro de Relaciones Exteriores ucraniano, Andriy Sybiga, en las redes sociales.
Un ataque de drones rusos mató a tres empleados de una planta de energía en la ciudad de Sloviansk, en el frente de batalla en el este de Ucrania, según el ministro de Energía, Denys Shmygal.
Otra persona murió en la región de Sumy, en el noreste, dijeron funcionarios locales.
Mientras tanto, Rusia acusó a Ucrania de lanzar más de 150 drones durante la noche, principalmente sobre las regiones del sur y la península de Crimea —ocupada por el Kremlin en 2014.
Un depósito de petróleo en el sur de Rusia se incendió, según los funcionarios.
El portavoz del Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, dijo a los periodistas que no esperaran grandes noticias del primer día de conversaciones.
Middle East
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Judge orders migrant deported in ‘error’ free from ICE custody with criminal case looming
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A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from re-arresting Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia into federal immigration custody — an update that comes just days before he is slated to appear in Nashville for a key court date in a separate criminal case.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis agreed to convert her previous emergency order blocking ICE from immediately re-detaining Abrego Garcia into a longer-term form of injunctive relief sought by his lawyers.
She said Tuesday that the Trump administration failed to provide the court with any «good reason to believe» that they plan to remove him to a third country in the «reasonably foreseeable future.» Instead, she said, they «made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success.»
The order clears the way for Abrego Garcia to participate in a key hearing in Nashville next week on whether a separate federal judge should dismiss his criminal case on the grounds of «vindictive» and selective prosecution.
ABREGO GARCIA REMAINS IN US FOR NOW AS JUDGE TAKES CASE UNDER ADVISEMENT
President Donald Trump and a protester holding a sign urging the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Getty Images )
Xinis also said the government has «done nothing» to show the court that Abrego Garcia’s continued detention in ICE custody is «consistent with due process.»
«Respondents have done nothing to show that Abrego Garcia’s continued detention in ICE custody is consistent with due process,» Xinis said Tuesday.
She ticked through a list of the Trump administration’s efforts to remove Abrego Garcia to a list of four African nations it had identified as so-called «third countries» of removal in the months between August, when Abrego was re-detained by ICE, and December, when Xinis ultimately ordered his release.
The Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Xinis said Tuesday that the administration «refused to procure Abrego Garcia’s immediate removal to Costa Rica,» the location he had identified as his preferred third country of removal, in favor of what she said was attempted «phantom removals» by the government to send Abrego to «three (maybe four) African countries.»
«Indeed, since Abrego Garcia secured his release from criminal custody in August 2025, respondents have made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success,» Xinis said.
ABREGO GARCIA LAWYERS ASK US JUDGE TO ORDER RETURN TO MARYLAND AMID ONGOING CRIMINAL CASE
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, right, and his brother Cesar Abrego Garcia, center, arrive at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
The Trump administration previously tried and failed to remove Abrego Garcia to the African countries of Liberia, Eswatini, Uganda and briefly, Ghana.
Xinis noted in late November that the government could not take any of those steps without the final notice of removal order, which she reiterated Tuesday in the memo order that the government had not obtained.
«Thus, he must remain on the stringent release conditions already imposed by ICE and in the Tennessee Criminal Matter,» Xinis said.
US JUDGE VOWS TO RULE ‘SOON’ ON ABREGO GARCIA’S FATE AFTER MARATHON HEARING
Abrego Garcia’s status has been at the center of a legal and political maelstrom since March, when he was deported to his home country of El Salvador, in violation of a 2019 court order and in what Trump officials acknowledge was an «administrative error.» Xinis ordered then that Abrego Garcia be «immediately» returned to the U.S.
He was eventually returned to the U.S. in June, where he was taken into federal custody in Nashville and detained on human smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop.
The Justice Department later told Xinis it had opened the criminal investigation and presented it to a grand jury at the same time that Abrego Garcia was detained in a Salvadoran prison, and at the same time as government lawyers were telling the court that the U.S. was powerless to order his return.
A woman holds a photo of Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia in front of the U.S. District Court in Nashville. A judge ordered Trump officials to testify in court in January to weigh Abrego’s motion to dismiss on the grounds of «vindictive» prosecution. (Getty Images )
Next week’s hearing in Nashville will be centered on a motion to dismiss Abrego Garcia’s criminal case for «vindictive» and selective prosecution.
The judge overseeing that case, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, had ruled in October that Abrego Garcia had established a «reasonable likelihood» that the criminal case against him was the result of vindictive prosecution by the Justice Department.
Crenshaw had ordered the Trump administration to produce for the court internal documents and government witnesses to testify about its decision to bring the case.
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Senior DHS and Justice Department officials previously suggested they would appeal Xinis’ orders. Trump officials have been sharply critical of Xinis and other federal judges presiding over deportation cages, whom they have repeatedly accused of overstepping their authority as a district judge.
«This order lacks any valid legal basis, and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts,» DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in response to the court’s earlier emergency order.
donald trump,politics,immigration,supreme court,federal courts,crime world,foreign policy,national security
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Russia sentences American to 4 years for allegedly trying to take Kalashnikov rifle stocks: report
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An American was sentenced Tuesday to four years in jail in Russia for allegedly trying to fly out of an airport in Moscow with the stocks of Kalashnikov assault rifles in his suitcase, a report said.
The unnamed U.S. citizen, who collects Kalashnikov weapons, did not make a customs declaration after purchasing two stocks and checking a suitcase containing the items at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, Reuters reported, citing the RIA Novosti state news agency.
He later was found guilty under an article of Russian criminal code relating to the smuggling of weapons, it added.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department for comment.
RUSSIA UPS JAIL SENTENCE OF US CITIZEN TO 10 YEARS FOR BEATING PRISON STAFF
AK-47 rifles are seen during a training session at a shooting range outside of Kyiv, Ukraine, on the left, in July 2023. On the right are passenger jets at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport. An American reportedly was jailed after trying to transport Kalashnikov rifle stocks in a suitcase at the airport. (STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images; Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Russian state media is also claiming the American partially admitted guilt, according to Reuters.
The State Department warns Americans not to travel to Russia «for any reason due to terrorism, unrest, wrongful detention and other risks.»
CHINA PLEDGES AID TO UKRAINE AS US OFFICIALS WARN BEIJING IS QUIETLY FUELING RUSSIA’S WAR
A Kalashnikov of a Ukrainian soldier participating in shooting training is seen in Donetsk region of Ukraine on July 31, 2024. (Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)
«The U.S. Embassy in Moscow has limited ability to assist in the case of a detention of a U.S. citizen. There is no guarantee that the Russian government will grant the U.S. Embassy consular access to detained U.S. citizens,» the State Department said. «U.S. citizens may serve their entire prison sentence without release. The risk of wrongful detention of U.S. citizens remains high. Even if a case is determined wrongful, there is no guarantee of release.»
A terminal at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, in August 2023. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)
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«Russian officials often question and threaten U.S. citizens without reason. Russian security services have arrested U.S. citizens on false charges,» it added. They have denied them fair treatment and convicted them without credible evidence. Russian authorities have opened questionable investigations against U.S. citizens for their religious activities.»
russia,crime,state department,world
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