Tech billionaire Elon Musk defended on Thursday the sweeping government downsizing efforts he has spearheaded to an audience of supporters at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland.

Musk told the crowd that the cuts have been made to keep programs like Medicare and Social Security operational.

"The actions that we're taking with the support of the President and the support of the agencies is what will save Medicare, is what will save Social Security. Because if the country goes insolvent, if all the money is just spent on paying interest on debt, there's no money left for anything." 

He added that U.S. President Donald Trump is also considering returning some of the savings from the cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to Americans.

Trump says he's considering returning 20 percent of DOGE savings to Americans

Musk opened his appearance at CPAC with Argentine President Javier Millei, who presented him with a chainsaw. Millei is known for wielding a chainsaw to illustrate his drastic policies slashing government spending. 

"This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy," said Musk, holding the power tool aloft as a stage prop to symbolize the drastic slashing of government jobs.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service became the latest target for cuts. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that the layoffs are expected to total 6,700, which is about 6 percent of the agency's workforce. 

The cuts are part of President Donald Trump's sweeping downsizing effort that has targeted bank regulators, forest workers, rocket scientists and tens of thousands of other government employees.

Thousands protest Trump and Musk in Washington

(Production: Kristin Neubauer)