Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. The candor on the tarmac Sunday night at Joint Base Andrews, under the wing of the presidential aircraft, came without any flinch of self doubt.

Elon Musk and his allies have spent the last two weeks barreling full speed into multiple government agencies, causing confusion and chaos and raising questions about whether an unelected businessman can wield this kind of authority,

The president said Musk won’t have the unfettered ability to dismantle the government, but for now their relationship is holding firm.