SEATTLE — When Donald Trump and Elon Musk announced their plan to cut alleged government waste they did so with typical boasts and swagger.

They claimed the Department of Government Efficiency , or Doge, would trim as much as $2trn from its bottom line, and did joint interviews on Fox News where they went out of their way to praise each other.

Trump said few things impressed him more than the ability of Musk’s SpaceX company to catch its boosters using large mechanical arms, meaning they could be re-used. New Feature

In Short

Quick Stories. Same trusted journalism.

“I saw the rocket ship come back and get grabbed like you grab a beautiful little baby,” said Trump. “You can’t really have a rocket programme if you’re going to dump $1bn into the ocean every time you fly. You h

See Full Page