• Elon Musk on Saturday defended the work of the White House DOGE Office.
• Musk spoke remotely to a meeting of Italy's League Party, saying DOGE is "attacked like crazy."
• "We're only cutting the most obvious terrible expenses that make no sense," he argued.

Elon Musk on Saturday defended the White House DOGE Office, arguing that the task force is "extremely transparent." Musk has faced a growing backlash over his work to reshape the federal government.

"We're very transparent with the Department of Government Efficiency," Musk told Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini virtually at a meeting of Italy's League Party.

"Any action that we make, we post on the doge.gov website, and we post on our X account, so it's extreme transparency," he said.

Musk described the challenges he's faced while implementing President Donald Trump's vision of a leaner government.

"It's very difficult to reduce the size of the bureaucracy and government spending," he said. "It comes with immense opposition, even when the things that we are cutting make no sense at all."

"We're only cutting the most obvious terrible expenses that make no sense," he said. "Nonetheless, we get attacked like crazy."

Since its formation in January, DOGE staffers have upended myriad departments and agencies, from the Departments of Treasury and State to the Social Security Administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and USAID.

A new report from the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that DOGE's actions have led to over 216,000 firings throughout the federal workforce.

Pushback against Musk and DOGE, meanwhile, has swelled among the general public. Nationwide protests — called the "Tesla Takedown" — targeted the company he leads last week. At the nationwide anti-Trump demonstrations this weekend, Musk was again the focus of many protesters.

Musk's influence may be waning amid the growing backlash. On Tuesday, he suffered a major political loss as Susan Crawford, the Democratic-backed candidate in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, easily defeated conservative judge Brad Schimel. Musk's America PAC poured millions into the race to support Schimel.

This week was also a highly consequential one for Trump, as the president on Wednesday rolled out his "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of trading partners — which has drawn broad criticism and caused one of the worst market sell-offs in recent memory.

Notably, while speaking with Salvini on Saturday, Musk said he wanted to see a "zero-tariff" system between the United States and Europe, a surprising break from the rhetoric coming from the Trump White House.

"I hope it's agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally, in my view, to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America," Musk said. "That's what I hope occurs."

• I heard my then 10-month-old baby screaming from the bathroom at the back of the plane.
• I've been cautious about his well-being since he was in the hospital with RSV at 5 months old.
• He had hit his head while changing his diaper, and I obsessed about his health during our trip.

We were somewhere over Greenland when I heard my 10-month-old start screaming from the back of the plane. My husband had taken him to the bathroom to change his diaper while I remained in our seats with our sleepy 7-year-old.

As passengers' heads started to turn toward the bathroom door, I felt embarrassed but not necessarily panicked (yet) — maybe he was just throwing a tantrum about the diaper change.

Then, suddenly, my husband was hurrying down the aisle toward me, toddler in arms. "I'm sorry," he said in a low voice. "I didn't mean to. I hit his head."

My heart sank.

He had been hospitalized before

We already had some PTSD when it came to our baby son Sunny's health and safety. At just 5 months old, he had been hospitalized with a bad case of RSV. One night, his coughs had turned into heaves as his tiny chest struggled to breathe, and we rushed him to the ER. From there, they took him in an ambulance to a pediatric hospital, where they suctioned his lungs.

I'll never forget the look on my 7-year-old's face as he watched his little brother get taken away in the ambulance. He begged for Sunny to come back.

Sunny did come back, but I don't think I realized until I was 30,000 feet above Greenland just how tenuous I felt Sunny's continued presence was. Now 10 months old, he was a strong and cheerful baby — but he was still a baby. Fragile, helpless.

It was an accident but I panicked

As my husband placed him in my lap on that flight, Sunny looked up at me with wide, wet eyes, screaming. "Head, mama! Head!" he cried. I could see the skin of his forehead already starting to change colors, forming a bright bump. I could have murdered my husband right then and there. I kept thinking, how could he be so careless?

Of course, it was an accident that could have happened to anyone: a parent scrambling to change a squirmy toddler's dirty diaper inside a too-tiny airplane bathroom. The parent's spatial reasoning being not his sharpest due to, you know, being exhausted on a long international flight with a baby, he steps with quickness and confidence through the bathroom door without any idea that in doing so, he's whacking that baby's soft forehead sharply on the frame.

It didn't help that I was working as a parenting editor at the time and was immersed daily in an excess of news stories and studies about all things baby. I knew very well how serious a head injury can be in children. I had read story after story about head bumps gone terribly wrong.

And in the moment, as my sweet toddler sobbed in my lap, those stories were all that filled my head.

I obsessively monitored him

As we landed in Iceland, our destination, I tried to watch for any of the telltale signs of distress in Sunny: nonstop crying, vomiting multiple times, noticeable changes in body movements, sleeping more than normal, or having problems waking up. Luckily, Sunny was free from almost all of the above, minus sleep changes, which could easily be chalked up to jet lag.

Still, I continued to obsess over monitoring Sunny through the entirety of our trip — as we explored geysers and waterfalls and ate cardamom buns and fermented shark. I spent sleepless nights at our Airbnb listening to Sunny breathe and annoying him by waking him up to ensure that he did, indeed, wake up. And, perhaps worst of all, I continued to quietly blame and resent my husband for the injury; I could hardly look at him the whole week.

My kids, however, forgot the injury by day two in Reykjavik. Sunny was running around, swimming in thermal pools, and playing with Icelandic tots.

Ultimately, Sunny had a far better time on our trip than I did, and the injury to his head ended up being milder than the injury to my psyche as a mom. Sunny's forehead bump had yellowed into a faded memory by the flight home. As our boys played peek-a-boo in their seats, shouting "halló!" at each other (pretty much the only Icelandic they had picked up), I was finally ready to hold my husband's hand again.

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• Protesters turned out in large numbers to nationwide demonstrations against the Trump administration.
• Trump has upended government agencies, fired thousands of federal workers, and shaken the economy.
• Many protesters told Business Insider they were worried about their retirement savings.

Last week, nationwide protests targeted Elon Musk for his role in dismantling government agencies and firing federal workers through the White House DOGE Office.

This week, they are targeting the man who gave him that role: President Donald Trump.

In coordinated demonstrations that organizers said took place across all 50 states, the "Hands Off!" protest accused Trump and his administration of championing policies that benefit the rich while making life harder for everyone else.

Business Insider sent reporters to protests in different parts of the country to hear from them directly. Many said they were most worried about the economy and their retirement investments, which have dwindled in tandem with Trump's tariff announcements. The crowds also skewed older compared to protests during Trump's first term.

Here's what they told us and what surprised us the most.

New York City

As I rode the train from Brooklyn to Midtown Manhattan, the subway car filled with protesters, their cardboard signs bumping up against umbrellas on a rainy Saturday in New York.

By 1 p.m., the 42nd Street station was even more crowded than usual. Older people clutched slippery canes, and young kids clutched their parents' hands. One man wore a once trendy Harris Walz camo hat. Another waved a small American flag, an unusual display of patriotism at anti-Trump rallies.

The damp horde of protesters shuffled toward Bryant Park, and in some ways, it all felt familiar. There were chants about abortion, signs featuring the face of now-deceased Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a progressive icon, and a steady cacophony of car horns.

But some things were different this time.

For one, the crowd looked older, with middle-aged Americans seeming to outnumber the 20-somethings that dominated rallies during the pandemic. It makes sense since many Americans are watching their retirement savings dwindle in the face of crashing markets and worry that staff cuts to the Social Security Administration could impact the crucial safety net.

While the anti-government protests held during Trump's first term focused on social issues — like abortion and civil rights issues — many of the signs today targeted the economy.

Most of the people I spoke to didn't want to share their last names because they worried about their privacy in the current political environment. Yet they weren't shy about their rage and despair.

Dorothy Auer, 62, told me she wished people would get angrier.

"I've been working for over 40 years, and I looked at my investments yesterday — my retirement plan — and I literally don't think I'll ever be able to retire," she said, starting to choke up.

Wiping her eyes with her free hand — the other held a black and white sign bashing Musk — Auer told me it's distressing to see a man of such wealth "turn around and crap on us."

Jian, 33, held a sign that read, "Tariffs are killing my 401(k)," but he told me he's most upset about what's happening to his retired father.

"My dad just lost about 25% of his savings in the last three days because of the tariffs," he said.

It's not just the economy, of course, that brought thousands of people out to Midtown Manhattan.

Penny, 54, said the Trump administration affected virtually every issue she cares about. Even so, we ended up talking about Musk.

"I'm horrified that a person who wasn't born here, wasn't elected, seems to be getting carte blanche to do whatever he wants in our government," she said. "How did he get a security clearance?"

Most of those I talked to as they slowly trudged toward Madison Square Park didn't think the protest would change Trump's mind.

A few said they hoped Congress would pay attention, but more than that, people said they felt they needed to do something.

"Even if it's sort of hopeless right now, at least it's showing people that we're here," Pyare, 49, told me. "And that we don't like it."

Novi, Michigan

Another week, another protest.

On Saturday, I attended the Hands Off! rally in Novi, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit where 55% of the vote went to Kamala Harris during the election. Thousands of people showed up.

The crowd was emotionally charged and united by the spirit of collective action. Many attendees said they were first-time protesters. The Tesla Takedown protests I attended last weekend seemed somber by comparison. Protesters here got loud.

"Call me Old Lady Army Fighting for Democracy," one 66-year-old woman, who didn't want to give her real name, told me. She held up a sign she had made. It was a charcoal drawing of the Statue of Liberty, whose hands covered her eyes in shame.

"I just copied this off of Facebook," she said. But to her it symbolized that "everything that our country stands for is being destroyed, and the world is looking at us."

Liana Gettel, 58, said she was outraged for several reasons, including the administration's stance on abortion. She said she had an abortion 29 years ago.

"I had lost a child. The child would not come out on its own. So I had to have a procedure. Had I not had that procedure, I wouldn't be here," she said. "And that's what they want to block, is things like that?"

Protesters targeted many different issues, including abortion, trans, and minority rights. One protester holding up a sign for trans rights said, "Trans people are just the appetizer, but everyone will be on the menu now."

The line echoed remarks made by human rights advocate Channyn Lynne Parker at the Rally for Trans Visibility in Chicago last weekend.

Unlike protests during Trump's first term, which focused on social issues, however, many people today were also worried about the president's economic policies.

Matt Watts said he was protesting Musk's takeover of Social Security and Trump's tariffs on "countries that don't deserve it." After the stock market began to take a hit from all the talk of tariffs, Watts said he took his money out of his 401(k) and invested it into a more stable fund. "I'm getting ready to retire pretty soon. I've got to count on that savings," he said.

The majority of protesters were middle-aged or older, but they managed to capture some younger activists with their energy.

Yajat Verma, 18, said he hadn't known about the protest but was driving by with a friend when he saw the crowd. He decided to join in and started handing out water bottles to protesters.

"Everyone should be protesting," he said.

Despite the loss, the Barstool Sports founder, who has an estimated $100 million net worth, said he'll continue to stand by the president.

The Villages, a Republican-leaning community in Florida, joined more than 1,200 protests against Trump and Musk on Saturday.

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• My husband and I have different backgrounds and upbringings, which affect our parenting.
• I'm raising my children to be independent, but my husband wants them to rely on him.
• My husband and I fight over our differences, but we just want what's best for our kids.

I am a South Asian woman raised in the melting pot of New Delhi, the capital of India. As a progressive-minded person with international exposure from childhood, I grew up experiencing different cultures, perspectives, and backgrounds.

My husband, on the other hand, grew up more conservative and now has a traditional outlook on life and culture.

Before getting married, we discussed our backgrounds but didn't explore how our differences would affect our parenting. We naively thought love would conquer any problems we faced.

But those differences have seeped into how we raise our children, which is causing some issues.

I want my kids to be independent and become socially responsible people

I have two kids: my daughter is 16, and my son is 11. I'm raising them to be independent children. I want them to think and fend for themselves — and not rely on anyone for anything.

I let my kids complete their homework independently. I don't constantly hover over them to ensure their work is getting done. I also don't baby them or run around picking up after them. I try to teach my children to be responsible and accountable.

From a young age, my kids have helped out around the house. They've helped me put clothes in the washing machine, wash the cupboards, and clean the tables. My children also love to help out while I'm cooking or baking.

I'm also teaching them to be free, independent thinkers. Unlike typical Indian parents who want their children to become doctors or engineers, I want them to pursue fields they are passionate about — not become whoever my husband and I want them to be.

My kids are aware of a world beyond the limited worldview they see in India and can fit in as global citizens. I take them to museums, zoos, and aquariums. I let them read an eclectic range of books to expand their minds.

I believe social responsibility starts at a young age. My kids have volunteered with me, planted saplings, and spent time with older people at an old-age home.

My husband, on the other hand, wants to baby our kids

My husband's conservative background has influenced his parenting. He wants our kids to be fully dependent on him. He also wants to make all the decisions for them.

My husband still feeds our son and sometimes even our teenage daughter. They're both old enough to feed themselves.

My husband goes overboard with shopping and splurges on them. He wants to provide them with everything that he did not have while growing up.

Additionally, I don't like the idea of my kids being on digital devices for long hours, but my husband lets them get away with anything. They both have phones, laptops, and an Xbox. I would rather they get transported into magical worlds through books, play board games, or do arts and crafts.

Our differences in parenting have created some friction in our relationship

Every now and then, my husband and I encounter situations where we clash on how to raise our kids, which leads to friction in our marriage. Sometimes, our differences even cause arguments, so we constantly discuss our viewpoints to ensure we understand each other.

Since mom and dad aren't always on the same page, my children notice and sometimes even take advantage. When they don't get their way with one parent, they often go to the other.

Ultimately, I know my husband and I just want the best for our children and will do our best to provide it. Even though my kids are getting a mix of parenting styles, I know they will become successful, educated adults in the end.

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