President Trump’s statement on Friday that he had directed Elon Musk to turn his budget-slashing initiative on the Pentagon underscored Mr. Musk’s rapidly expanding role in their charge to shrink the federal bureaucracy and stomp out any opposition to the president’s agenda.
At a White House news conference, Mr. Trump said Mr. Musk would also be examining the Education Department. It is one more corner of the government, from the Treasury Department to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, now under the scrutiny of the band of young and inexperienced operatives under Mr. Musk’s direction.
In the first three weeks of the new administration, Mr. Musk’s cost-cutting team has swiftly inserted itself into at least 17 federal agencies, according to a tally by The New York Times.
Both the billionaire and Mr. Trump have defended the disruptive actions of his young aides, even as some of them have come under scrutiny for their…
