WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) 鈥� President has signed an executive order meant to expand access to and reduce costs of and issued a presidential memorandum calling for 鈥渞adical transparency requirements鈥� from the government, which he suggested could reduce wasteful spending.
On the campaign trail, Trump after his Supreme Court nominees helped to overturn Roe v. Wade, leading to a wave of restrictions in Republican-led states, including some that have threatened access to IVF by trying to define life as beginning at conception.
Trump, who was at his Florida residence and club, Mar-a-Lago, on Tuesday, also signed another executive order as well as a presidential memorandum. The second executive order outlined the oversight functions of the Office of Management and Budget, while the memo requires the government to detail the 鈥渨aste, fraud and abuse鈥� that鈥檚 found as the Department of Government Efficiency, overseen by Tesla CEO , looks to cut government spending.
DOGE has often fallen short of the administration鈥檚 promises of transparency. Musk has taken questions from journalists only once since becoming Trump鈥檚 most powerful adviser, and he鈥檚 claimed it鈥檚 illegal to name people who are working for him. Sometimes DOGE staff members have demanded access to sensitive government databases with little explanation.
Trump took more than 30 minutes of questions Tuesday on a range of topics and bashed the Biden administration throughout, highlighting issues such as its handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, Venezuela policy and .
Trump said he thought he had a 鈥済ood chance鈥� to end Russia鈥檚 war in Ukraine but bristled at suggestions that the to end fighting without Ukraine playing a role. He even seemed to suggest that Ukraine was to blame for a war that began only after Russia invaded that country.
鈥淭oday I heard, 鈥榃ell, we weren鈥檛 invited.鈥� Well, you鈥檝e been there for three years,鈥� Trump said of Ukraine鈥檚 leaders. 鈥淵ou should have never started it.鈥�
In anticipation of questions about his administration鈥檚 efforts to slash federal spending, the president said he wrote down examples of government programs around the world which he then listed off at length. They included funding to promote voter turnout in India and social cohesion initiatives in Mali 鈥� all of which Trump suggested collectively amounted to fraud.
Asked about the White House鈥檚 arguing in a court filing that Musk wasn鈥檛 the head of Trump鈥檚 government efficiency efforts, Trump said: 鈥淵ou could call him an employee, you could call him a consultant, you could call him whatever you want. But he鈥檚 a patriot.鈥�
Trump said he thinks 鈥渨omen and families, husbands, are very appreciative鈥� of his executive order on IVF, which offers a possible solution when a woman has trouble getting pregnant. The procedure involves retrieving her eggs and combining them in a lab dish with a man鈥檚 sperm to create a fertilized embryo, which is then transferred into the woman鈥檚 uterus in an attempt to create a pregnancy. IVF is done in cycles, and more than one may be required.
Barbara Collura, president and CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, said that what the White House put out 鈥渓ooks extremely promising.鈥�
鈥淭he biggest barriers for people to building their families are the out-of-pocket costs, the lack of insurance coverage for this care,鈥� she said.
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat, said: 鈥淒onald Trump鈥檚 executive order does nothing to expand access to IVF. In fact, he鈥檚 the reason IVF is at risk in the first place.鈥�
Duckworth said if Trump is going to follow through on his campaign promise to provide free IVF, he can start by supporting her legislation that would require insurance plans to cover IVF.
Trump, who spent the morning at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, spoke to reporters hours before his first joint TV interview with Musk aired in prime time on Fox News Channel. The president acknowledged during it that 鈥渋nflation is back,鈥� but noted that he'd only been in office a few weeks and insisted 鈥淚 had nothing to do鈥� with prices that remain stubbornly high.
Trump mentioned during that same interview that Musk is 鈥減robably not that happy鈥� with things like tax breaks for electric vehicles likely not being included in tax legislation now being discussed in Congress, but he said Musk didn't seek special treatment for Tesla.
鈥淚 haven't asked the president for anything, ever," Musk added. Asked about potential conflicts of interest between Musk's governmental efforts and his businesses and how they will be handled, Trump said, 鈥淗e won't be involved鈥� and Musk said he'd recuse himself.
Musk has drawn criticism from Democrats in Congress and others for the methods he and his team at DOGE are using to cut spending, including foreign aid, and eliminate jobs across the bureaucracy.
The joint interview follows Musk鈥檚 appearance with Trump in the Oval Office last week, when both to federal cost-cutting.
Also Tuesday night, an awards program was held at Mar-a-Lago by America鈥檚 Future. That's a conservative group led by , who briefly served as national security adviser in the Republican president鈥檚 first term. The program aims to preserve individual rights and promote American values and traditions, according to its website. The event honored one member each from the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Space Force.
The event included a poolside reception, musical performances and dinner in Mar-a-Lago鈥檚 Grand Ballroom. The lineup included such names as Russell Brand, Ted Nugent and Mike Tyson.
Trump made an appearance at the event, according to video posted on social media Tuesday night, addressing the crowd on the patio as he stood near Tyson, Flynn and Nugent and declaring, 鈥淭his is very, very friendly territory.鈥�
Trump praised the men, including Flynn, who was one of the leading proponents of Trump鈥檚 efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The president called him 鈥渢he real deal鈥� and indicated he wanted to bring Flynn into his administration, saying he offered him 鈥渁bout 10 jobs."
鈥淎nytime you want to come in, you know that, Mike, OK?鈥� Trump said.
Flynn less than a month after Trump鈥檚 inauguration. He was charged in 2017 with lying to the FBI about conversations he had with the Russians on Trump鈥檚 behalf. He twice pleaded guilty, but Trump in the final weeks of his presidency.
___
Price reported from New York. Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Chris Megerian in Washington and Laura Ungar in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this report. Follow the AP's coverage of President Donald Trump at .
Darlene Superville And Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press
