CNN political analyst Maggie Haberman said some White House officials are excited to see Elon Musk exit his role as a special government employee.
The tech giant led the Department of Government Efficiency for 130 days with an objective to downsize federal spending by trillions. Haberman, also a New York Times journalist, said news coverage about cuts were politically “problematic” for Trump and the reputation of his administration.
“They are happy…to have him go because, look, there are things [Musk] did that some of them are happy with. A bunch of them in Trump’s world came around to Musk. Many others, however, were not so happy,” Haberman said during a Friday appearance on CNN’s “AC360.”
The journalist said Musk’s unsupported claims that dead people were receiving social security benefits and other unsubstantiated statements served as a “source of tension” for the White House.
Haberman added that the billionaire’s social media presence granted him the power to “intimidate” many of his colleagues in the government.
Trump directly addressed Musk’s role as an adviser during a Friday presser, commending the Tesla CEO for his government work.
“There’s nobody like him, and he had to go through the slings and the arrows, which is a shame, because he’s an incredible patriot,” the president told reporters in the Oval.
Both Trump and Musk have said DOGE’s work will continue even as the CEO retreats from the spotlight in Washington.
“This is not the end of DOGE, but really the beginning,” Musk said.
“The DOGE team will only grow stronger over time. The DOGE influence will only go stronger,” Musk added. “It is permeating throughout the government, and I am confident that, over time, we will see a trillion dollars of savings and a reduction in — a trillion dollars of waste and fraud reduction.”
Musk said he would help the agency chuck $36 trillion off the standing national debt.