"Elon is doing a great job, but I would like to see him get more aggressive," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "Remember, we have a country to save."

Trump has put the tech entrepreneur in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasking him with slashing public spending and tackling waste and alleged corruption.

Musk -- the world's richest person and Trump's biggest donor -- has led the effort to fire swaths of the federal workforce.

The US Defense Department announced its latest cuts on Friday. Starting next week, it will reduce its civilian workforce by at least five per cent.

Trump's administration has already begun firing many other federal workers who are on probationary status.

DOGE is a free-ranging entity run by Musk, though the cost-cutting spree has been met with pushback on several fronts and mixed court rulings.

A judge on Thursday denied a union bid to temporarily halt the firing of thousands of people.

Musk said he would work with Trump this week for as long as he "can be helpful. " The pair dismissed concerns over possible conflicts of interest related to the tech tycoon's government contracts.

In the Fox interview, Trump praised Musk, the head of SpaceX and Tesla, calling the billionaire "brilliant," "honest," and a "very good, solid businessman."

"If there's any conflict, he will stop it. But if he didn't, I'd stop it," Trump said. "We're talking about big stuff, but he's under a pretty big microscope. I mean, everybody's watching him."

Musk said DOGE was publicizing its actions on its website and that the transparency would hold him accountable.

"The possibility of me getting away with something is zero per cent," Musk said. "I'm scrutinized to a ridiculous degree."

Musk has also waded into the Ukraine conflict this week, attacking President Volodymyr Zelensky and claiming Ukrainians "despised" their president -- reinforcing Trump's criticism of the wartime leader.

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