00:00Scott Kapoor, who was sworn in this month as head of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management,
00:05clarifies he has no personal ties to former government advisor Elon Musk.
00:10The new chief of the agency, leading efforts to slash the federal workforce,
00:15also pledged to carry out President Donald Trump's agenda.
00:19Now, however, he made clear he would not be swayed by outside influence
00:24that conflicts with the president's vision.
00:26And prior to his current role, Kapoor was a partner at a Silicon Valley venture capital firm
00:32that invested in Musk's AI startup XAI, as well as SpaceX.
00:38Musk had headed the Department of Government Efficiency until his departure in late May,
00:43where he led budget cuts and workforce reductions.
00:46Tensions have lingered since, with Musk publicly criticizing Trump's policies,
00:51prompting contract threats and nomination reversals.
00:54This included Trump withdrawing the nomination of Musk ally and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA.
01:01The president also threatened to cancel billions of dollars in federal contracts with Musk's companies.
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