A federal judge on Friday declined to block Elon Musk's government cost-cutting department from accessing the U.S. Department of Labor's systems, an initial setback for the government employee unions resisting his efforts to shrink the federal bureaucracy.

Marko Elez, the DOGE staffer who resigned after racist social media posts including a call to "normalize Indian hate" surfaced, will return to work for Musk, the billionaire announced.

President Donald Trump continues his efforts to reduce the size of the federal government, including the Pentagon, with the help of Elon Musk and his DOGE commission. NBC News Correspondents Kelly O’Donnell and Ryan Nobles and New York Times Chief White House Correspondent Peter Baker join Meet the Press NOW.