(TNND) — Argentine President Javier Milei delivered a chain saw to the stage for Elon Musk as the Conservative Political Action Conference delivered its first full day of speakers for its annual conference.

Musk, who is leading President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting task force, called the prop a “chain saw for bureaucracy.”

CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp opened the conference Thursday by asking the crowd at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, “Are you glad that America is back on track?”

And Vice President JD Vance kicked off a busy schedule of speakers, telling the moderator, “It's hard to believe we've only been in office for a month, because I think we've done more in a month than (former President Joe) Biden did in about four years.”

Vance said the Trump administration is focused on securing the border , pruning government waste, and unlocking the economy and the “engine of American growth.”

“I think the president is acutely aware that the American people gave us a window to save the country, and that's exactly what we're going to do,” Vance said.

The CPAC conference runs through Saturday, with Trump set to speak on the final day.

Lawmakers, administration officials, business people, and other conservative figures took the stage Thursday.

Rep. James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, joined Trump counselor Alina Habba to talk about the “weaponization of the federal government against its citizens.”

West Virginia Rep. Riley Moore, Glenn Story from Patriot Mobile, and entrepreneur Nate Morris talked about “woke boardrooms.”

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright talked about breaking down barriers to domestic energy production.

“Look at the last four years. What have we seen?” Wright said. “Every possible new barrier implemented to make it harder to produce oil and gas. That doesn’t change the demand for oil and gas. You just make it harder to produce. What do you get? You get less supply and higher prices. We’ve seen 30% rise in electricity prices just in the previous administration.”

Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt, Indiana Sen. Jim Banks and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz all appeared.

Trump’s new Attorney General Pam Bondi, who appeared with Cruz, said the designation of transnational cartels as terrorist groups will help the U.S. “go after them ... anywhere in the world and treat them as terrorists. They are terrorists. If you’re bringing fentanyl into this country and killing our kids, you’re a terrorist. And we’re coming after you.”

The conference had an international flare, with former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, CPAC Brazil organizer Eduardo Bolsonaro, Israeli hostage families, Spanish political leader Santiago Abascal, Hungarian Prime Minister adviser Balazs Orban, and U.K. Reform Party leader Nigel Farage making appearances.

Truss said there was a “dark cloud” under Biden, but now the “patriotic Brits” are looking across the ocean in envy at what Trump is doing for America.

She said our two countries share problems, including mass migration and barriers to energy production.

“All of the people here are working to make America great again,” Truss said. “I believe that we can make Britain great again.”

Musk talked about his pivot from being politically neutral if not leaning Democratic to becoming a close ally of Trump.

Musk accused the left of infringing on freedoms and decried “cancel culture.”

“We just need to restore the fundamental elements of what made America great, which is freedom and opportunity,” Musk said.

He said DOGE was going after government waste and “tax dollars that are funding things that are fundamentally anti-American.”

Musk also said the idea of "DOGE dividends," checks to reimburse Americans via savings created by his task force, is gaining traction.

But House Speaker Mike Johnson poured cold water on that idea during his CPAC appearance.

Johnson said the federal government is $36 trillion in debt, and Republicans should be fiscally responsible.

“I think we need to pay down the credit card,” Johnson said.

But the House speaker echoed many of the same sentiments as Vance, Musk and the other speakers about the Republican agenda this year.

“We're going to take a blowtorch to the regulatory state,” Johnson said.