Elon Musk said so long to his official government role this evening, as his status as a special government employee expires.
“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” Musk wrote. “The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
Musk exit has been anticipated, as special government employees can serve for a period not exceeding 130 days per year. But Musk’s appearances at White House events have tapered off in recent weeks, a contrast to his ubiquitous presence earlier in Trump’s term.
Musk led the Department of Government Efficiency effort to slash government agencies, wreaking havoc across the federal workforce as he and his staff quickly moved to shut down USAID, among other entities. Musk boasted of the achievement by brandishing a chainsaw at CPAC.
But his actions drove up his unpopularity and tarnished the brand of his electric vehicle company Tesla. Musk signaled earlier this month that he would start moving away from politics to spend more time on his companies. He reportedly clashed with other administration officials, including Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. They at one point had a shouting match at the White House over Musk’s efforts to install his own acting director of the IRS, according to a report in The Atlantic.
In an interview this week with CBS News’ David Pogue, Musk was critical of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” the massive tax and spending package that recent passed the House. Although it would extend Trump’s tax cuts from his first term, the legislation also is estimated to add trillions to the deficit.
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” Musk said.
Musk became the target of protests, and his political influence appeared to wane after the Wisconsin Supreme Court elections. After pouring in $25 million to try to elect a conservative judge to the state’s highest court, rival Susan Crawford won handily and ensured a liberal majority.
Musk at one time contended that he could find $2 trillion to trim from spending, but he backed away from that. DOGE now claims to have found $175 billion in savings, and even that figure has been disputed.
In an interview this week with The Washington Post, Musk acknowledged that his work cutting government was more difficult that he expected. He said, “The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized. I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in D.C., to say the least.”
Among those who have been critical of Musk are Bill Gates, a longtime champion of foreign aid. He said that the closure of USAID has sidelined life-saving food and medical programs. “The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one,” Gates told the Financial Times earlier this month.