Elon Musk Ends Role in Trump Administration’s Government Efficiency Department
Tech magnate Elon Musk announced Wednesday evening that his involvement with the Trump administration has concluded. Musk had been serving as a Special Government Employee leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a position that granted him a temporary role to help implement cost-cutting initiatives within the federal government.
"With my designated time as a Special Government Employee ending, I want to express my gratitude to President Donald Trump for the opportunity to help reduce unnecessary government spending," Musk posted on X, the social media platform he owns. He added that the mission of DOGE would continue evolving and influencing government practices long after his departure.
A White House official confirmed that Musk's offboarding process—primarily paperwork—began Wednesday night. Under federal rules, Musk was permitted to serve up to 130 days in this special role.
During his tenure, Musk led aggressive cost-reduction measures, including major federal workforce cuts aligned with Trump’s fiscal priorities. More than 121,000 federal employees were either laid off or identified for termination within Trump’s first 100 days in office. Additional staff accepted voluntary buyouts, and several grants and programs faced sharp reductions—some of which were reinstated following legal pushback.
Recently, Musk had begun shifting focus back to his core businesses, such as Tesla and SpaceX, both of which have encountered challenges partially tied to Musk's political associations with Trump.
In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Musk criticized Trump’s expansive tax and spending legislation, arguing it contradicted DOGE’s mission by inflating the national deficit. “The bill increases the deficit instead of reducing it. It undermines everything DOGE stands for,” Musk said. He questioned whether such a bill could be both “big” and “beautiful,” as Trump described it.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill could add $3.8 trillion to the federal deficit. Despite Musk’s criticism, Trump brushed aside concerns, suggesting further revisions would occur as the bill moved through the Senate.
House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated that Republicans are prepared to implement budget cuts in line with DOGE's proposals once the administration formally requests action from Congress.
Meanwhile, CNN reported that Katie Miller, a key DOGE spokesperson, has also stepped down and is now working directly with Musk. Neither she nor the White House provided immediate comment.
Musk, who has previously invested over $290 million in political campaigns supporting Trump and other Republicans, recently stated he intends to scale back his political spending. However, it remains unclear whether that decision will affect his earlier commitment to allocate $100 million to pro-Trump political organizations.
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