By Gizem Nisa Cebi
ISTANBUL (AA) - US President Donald Trump declared Thursday the start of the "Golden Age of America," claiming significant accomplishments in the first six weeks of his administration.
"The Golden Age of America has just begun! Over the past six weeks, our Administration has delivered on promises like no Administration before it, always putting America First!" Trump said on Truth Social, his proprietary platform, brushing aside parts of his program unpopular with voters, from new tariffs to a lack of focus on tackling inflation.
He praised the Department of Government Efficiency, a controversial unofficial government cost-cutting effort led by billionaire Elon Musk, his top campaign donor last year.
"We just had a meeting with most of the (Cabinet) Secretaries, Elon, and others, and it was a very positive one," Trump said. "It’s very important that we cut levels down to where they should be, but it’s also important to keep the best and most productive people."
"We say the 'scalpel' rather than the 'hatchet’" for cutting government, he said, implicitly pushing back on a prop chainsaw Musk embraced as a cost-cutting metaphor in a televised appearance.
Trump touched on a strategy where Cabinet secretaries would work closely with Musk’s team to determine which government employees will remain in their positions, in the name of productivity and effectiveness.
Trump said these bi-weekly meetings would continue until staffing adjustments were completed.
The work of Musk’s team, however, has attracted considerable controversy, even among Trump’s Republican Party. Cabinet secretaries are said to be worried that Musk – who is unappointed, unlike them – is usurping their power.
A string of missteps and embarrassments have cast a shadow over the team in recent weeks, from firing critical workers and then rushing to rehire them, to posting “savings” on its website that had been counted numerous times or were for government programs canceled before January, when Trump took office.
Critics of the work of Musk say his firings are indiscriminate and reckless, and in sacking government regulators of his own companies, violate conflict of interest rules.