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Billionaire Elon Musk, head of the US Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE), visited the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Monday to discuss improving the agency’s performance. This was reported by CIA Public Affairs Director Liz Lyonsnform to Axios.
Musk and the CIA: the first meeting at the highest level
This is Musk’s first visit to the CIA since the creation of DOGE, the federal department responsible for cutting government spending. According to Lyons, the billionaire was hosted by CIA Director John Ratcliffe and his deputy Michael Ellis, as well as a group of senior agency officials.
During the meeting, Musk shared his conclusions about the effectiveness of other government agencies and suggested possible ways to adapt these approaches to the CIA.
CIA and DOGE: how intelligence optimises costs
According to a source familiar with the negotiations, the CIA already has an internal DOGE team, created after President Donald Trump’s executive order. It is working on reforms in the agency without raising national security issues.
“Director Ratcliffe emphasised that taxpayer spending should be focused solely on the CIA’s mission of protecting the United States,” said Lyons.
Technology and the future of intelligence services
Another topic of the meeting was technology and its impact on the CIA. Although Musk was not provided with a classified intelligence briefing, he discussed with the agency’s leadership how the use of innovation can help improve the efficiency of intelligence services.
