02.06.2025 – 06.06.2025 A Tate Papers A Pine (2)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk will remain a close adviser to President Donald Trump on May 30, despite his four-month stint in the White House.
During a farewell ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House, Trump praised Musk for his role as head of the Office of the Director of the Department of Economic and Financial Intelligence (DOGE).
Musk recently announced that he would be leaving the administration after completing 130 days in the role. That term expires around May 30.
“Mass is not really stepping down. He’s going to be in the White House,” Trump said in his farewell speech. The president also said that DOGE’s performance has changed the mindset of government officials.
According to the DOGE website, the agency had saved $175 billion in waste for the U.S. government as of May 29.
One of the world’s richest people, Musk has invested nearly $300 million to help Trump and Republicans get elected in 2024.
Elon Musk’s DOGE has led to the layoffs of many government employees. Most programs run by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have been suspended.
Musk’s Tesla has been the subject of worldwide protests. There have been calls for a boycott. The company’s sales have also plummeted to record lows.
US Defense Secretary Peirce Hastings warned on May 31 that China is preparing to use military force to change the balance of power in Asia.
The Trump administration is engaged in a showdown with China over trade, technology and influence, Hastings said at an annual security forum in Singapore.
Since taking office in January, Trump has waged a trade war with China, restricted China’s access to US AI technology, and increased defense ties with allies like the Philippines, which has a territorial dispute with China.
“The threat from China is real and could be imminent,” Hastings told the Shangri-La Dialogue, which is attended by defense officials from around the world.
He said China is preparing for the possibility of using military force to change the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region.
In addition, the Chinese military is building up capabilities to invade Taiwan and is conducting drills for that event, Hassett said.
China has increased military pressure on Taiwan and conducted large-scale military exercises near Taiwan.
Hassett said the United States is focused on deterring China’s aggression, and urged U.S. allies and partners in Asia to quickly ramp up defenses in the face of rising threats.
Hassett accused China of conducting cyberattacks and harassing its neighbors, and of engaging in illegal territorial claims and militarization in the South China Sea.
China claims almost all of the waters of the South China Sea, through which more than 60 percent of global maritime trade passes.
China has also clashed frequently with the Philippines in strategic maritime borders in recent months, and US officials have said those issues will dominate the Shangri-La talks.
As the Shangri-La talks were taking place in Singapore, the Chinese military announced that its air force and navy were conducting combat-ready patrols near Scarborough Shoal, which the Philippines claims.
Casey Meese, the acting charge d’affaires at the US embassy in Singapore, told reporters ahead of the Shangri-La meeting that China’s activities in the South China Sea have increased in recent years.