--- title: "Elon Musk Admits He Failed to Cut $2 Trillion in Federal Fat, But Says at Least He Enjoyed His Trump Sleepovers With Ice Cream" description: "Elon Musk failed miserably at his goal to cut $2 trillion in federal spending — but he did get to have sleepovers with Donald Trump." date: "2025-05-02" modified: "2025-05-02" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-failed-cuts-sleepovers" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Health & Medicine" - "Sleep" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "doge" - "donald trump" - "elon musk" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Admits He Failed to Cut $2 Trillion in Federal Fat, But Says at Least He Enjoyed His Trump Sleepovers With Ice Cream ![Elon Musk failed miserably at his goal to cut $2 trillion in federal spending — but he did get to have sleepovers with Donald Trump.]() *\Image: Andrew Harnik via Getty / Futurism\* ## Failson Elon Musk failed miserably at his goal to cut $2 trillion in federal spending — but he did shout out his sleepovers with Donald Trump during his time at the White House. In his first (and presumably last) time meeting press in the West Wing, Musk told reporters from *[Fox News]()*, [*Axios*](), [*CNN*](), and a handful of other outlets that his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has cut about $160 billion in federal spending. That might sound like an impressive figure, at least until you remember that Musk promised to [trim $2 trillion](), or that the US has [already spent $200 billion *more*]() than it did during the same period last year. "In the grand scheme of things, I think we've been effective," the South African-born billionaire said of his DOGE tenure, which is ending imminently because his [special government employee status]() is about to expire. "Not as effective as I like... but we've made progress." During that same press gaggle, Musk boasted that his DOGE cuts have thus far resulted in one percent of the federal workforce, or about 20,000 people, having their jobs slashed. He added that he and his minions have "probably" gotten the job done right about "70-80 percent of the time." ## We All Scream The wide-ranging interview wasn't all about dollars and cents. When asked where he spends his nights in Washington — the subject of ample speculation, especially after [*Wired* revealed]() that he and his staff often sleep in the DOGE's Capitol Hill offices — Musk dished that the president had invited him to stay in the White House on more than one occasion. This situation arose, per the billionaire's retelling, when Trump asked Musk where he was staying one night. "I was like: ''I don't know. At a friend's house, I guess,'" the world's sometimes-richest man told reporters. "And then he was like: 'Why don't you stay here?' I was like: 'Sure.'" While Musk refused to say exactly how many nights he slept over in the [White House's Lincoln bedroom](), he admitted that it was "more than once" — and that on one such occasion, the president urged him to sample the kitchen's ice cream selection. "He'll actually call me late night and say, 'by the way, make sure you get ice cream from the kitchen,'" the 53-year-old recounted, [per *Fox News*](). "I ate a whole tub of ice cream — caramel Häagen-Dazs." "Yeah, it's epic," Musk said. "Don't tell RFK." **More on Musk and Trump:** [*Trump's New Tariff Rule Is Wildly Convenient for Tesla*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()