[Source: Reuters]

President Donald Trump ordered U.S. agencies on Tuesday to work closely with top adviser Elon Musk’s effort to shrink the federal workforce by identifying government employees who can be laid off and functions that can be eliminated entirely.

With his 4-year-old son by his side or on his shoulders, Musk stood alongside Trump in the Oval Office at the White House before the order was signed, The billionaire answered questions from reporters, making it clear that he is leading Trump’s government downsizing efforts.

Wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap, the world’s richest man defended his role as an unelected official who has been granted unprecedented authority by the president to dismantle parts of the U.S. government.

“You can’t have an autonomous federal bureaucracy. You have to have one that’s responsive to the people,” Musk said.

Musk, the Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab CEO and owner of X, pushed back at criticism that he and his Department of Government Efficiency team have operated largely in secrecy.

“I fully expect to be scrutinized and get, you know, a daily proctology exam, basically,” Musk said. “It’s not like I think I can get away with something.”

DOGE has operated in near-complete secrecy, providing no information on whom it employs, where it is operating or what actions it is taking inside government agencies. It posts few actual results from its work, providing only dollar figures for purported cuts in specific agencies and little specific detail.

Tuesday’s executive order was the latest effort by Trump and Musk to shrink and align the U.S. government with Trump’s policy priorities.

There have already been large-scale buyout offers, attempts to strip civil-service protections from federal workers and the effective shuttering of some federal agencies.

The order sets forth rules requiring government agencies to hire no more than one employee for every four workers who leave, and it compels agencies to work with Musk’s team to identify large-scale reductions in force and determine which agency components may be eliminated outright.

The order exempts from cuts those employees whose work is critical to national security, public safety, law enforcement and immigration enforcement.

Many government workers belong to labor unions, which means any big layoffs or reductions in force must comply with their collective bargaining agreements. Nonunion employees of the civil service also enjoy job protections under federal law.

The push toward mass layoffs comes after the Trump administration attempted to cajole federal workers into accepting buyout offers. That effort has been blocked by a federal judge.