Buyout Firm Vista to Acquire EQT's Acumatica in $2 Billion Deal
Vista Equity Partners agreed to acquire Acumatica Inc., a software company that helps businesses streamline workflows.
Vista is buying the Bellvue, Washington-based firm from private equity firm EQT AB, according to a statement Thursday that confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report. Financial terms weren't disclosed. The deal values Acumatica at about $2 billion including debt, people familiar with the matter said.
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Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Elon Musk leaves the Trump administration, capping his run as federal government slasher
WASHINGTON − Elon Musk has officially left the Trump administration, capping the billionaire tech entrepreneur's turbulent four-month run leading a contentious effort to slash the federal government. Musk, who had already scaled back his role with the Department of Government Efficiency, announced his departure in a May 28 post on X. It comes as his designation as a "special government employee" ‒ which allowed him to stay on the job for 130 calendar days a year ‒ has ended. "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 said. "The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." A White House official confirmed Musk's exit, telling USA TODAY, "The offboarding process has begun." More: Elon Musk bemoans DOGE becoming Trump administration's 'whipping boy' As the head of DOGE and a senior White House adviser, Musk led the effort to gut the government of what he called "waste and fraud" and reduce the federal workforce. DOGE, which is staffed by more than 100 government employees, is set to continue operating without Musk in charge. But it was unclear how much power the group will maintain without its famous leader. Musk already had shifted his attention back to his business empire. Tesla, his electric car company, suffered financial losses after he became a polarizing figure as President Donald Trump's chief sidekick. This week, Musk took part in a blitz of media interviews from the headquarters of his company SpaceX in South Texas, coinciding with the latest test flight of his Starship spacecraft. The day before his departure, Musk broke with Trump by criticizing his massive tax and spending bill that the president has dubbed the "big, beautiful bill." The bill, which includes Trump's domestic agenda on items ranging from border security to tax cuts, passed the House along party lines. It now heads to the Senate. "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 in an interview May 27 on "CBS Sunday Morning." The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $3.8 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years. 'I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don't know if it can be both. My personal opinion,' Musk said in the interview. Musk, the richest man in the world and a Republican megadonor who helped bankroll Trump's 2024 campaign, last week said he intends to substantially cut back his political spending in future elections as he focuses more time on his businesses. "I think in terms of political spending, I'm going to do a lot less in the future," Musk said May 20 at the Bloomberg News Qatar Economic Forum. "I think I've done enough." DOGE has boasted of saving the federal government more than $175 billion through cuts ‒ though the group's declared savings have often been exaggerated or misleading. The office has dismantled entire federal agencies, axed government contracts and led the firings of tens of thousands of federal workers. Musk downplayed the effect his absence could have on DOGE's survival during an interview with USA TODAY and other media outlets earlier in May. "Is Buddha needed for Buddhism?" Musk asked. "DOGE is a way of life."Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elon Musk leaves the Trump White House after turbulent run in power
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Elon Musk's rise and fall: From Trump's chainsaw-wielding sidekick to a swift exit
WAHSINGTON ― Elon Musk arrived at the White House with a bang. He was the chainsaw-wielding government slasher and President Donald Trump's chief sidekick who promised to gut the federal bureaucracy. But he's leaving four months later without the same swagger, after splitting with Trump over the president's signature tax and spending bill and failing to deliver on the transformational savings that he hoped would drastically reduce the size of government. The White House appeared ready to move on when Musk ‒ the world's richest man, who was once so close to Trump that he stayed overnight in the White House Lincoln Bedroom during visits ‒ finally announced his formal exit in a May 28 post on X, the social media platform he owns. "The offboarding process has begun," a White House official told USA TODAY. Trump, in an evening May 29 post on Truth Social, said he will hold an Oval Office news conference Friday afternoon with Musk in what "will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way." Here's a look back at what led to Musk's exit and what's next for the Department of Government Efficiency he once led: DOGE rapidly fanned throughout the federal government, seizing control of information technology infrastructure, axing federal government contracts, eliminating entire agencies and pushing out or firing tens of thousands of federal employees. But Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is leaving after falling vastly short of his ambitious government savings goal for DOGE. Musk had set a goal for DOGE to cut $1 trillion from the federal government by the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, to root out what he called "waste, fraud and abuse." He had even talked about $2 trillion in cuts on the 2024 campaign trail when he stumped for Trump. "I think if we try for $2 trillion, we've got a good shot at getting 1 [trillion]," Musk said on Jan. 9. But DOGE's savings total posted on its website currently stands at $175 billion worth of cuts, not even 20% of $1 trillion. And this does not even factor in potential exaggerations or errors in DOGE's calculation, which has been a theme in the group's previous declared savings. Researchers on both the left and the right flagged DOGE for overstating its savings in the Department of Education by hundreds of millions of dollars, and the group was also caught claiming a canceled contract was worth $8 billion when it was actually only $8 million. And some of DOGE's savings will be offset by the costs of imposing layoffs, defending their legality in court and rehiring workers who win their lawsuits. The nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service estimated that DOGE's actions will cost $135 billion this fiscal year − and that's without accounting for the fact that getting rid of IRS agents will lead to reduced tax revenue. More: Elon Musk talks Lincoln Bedroom stays, late-night ice cream as he steps back from DOGE Ahead of his departure, Musk had grown increasingly frustrated by the pace of cuts slowed by the legal setbacks and other political hurdles blocking his efforts to gut the government. In a May 1 interview with USA TODAY and other media outlets, Musk acknowledged that he might not reach his savings goal. "I may not succeed," Musk said. "There's a lot of inertia in the government with respect to cost savings." Despite his departure, Musk this week told the Washington Post that DOGE's next focus will be on fixing the federal government's aging computer systems ‒ something far less controversial than taking a battering ram to the federal workforce. At the peak of his influence, Musk became the most prominent face of the Trump administration besides Trump himself. Musk started on day one of Trump's second term. And he was everywhere: boarding Air Force One with the president on the way to Mar-a-Lago, next to Trump in the Oval Office, wearing a black MAGA hat with his 4-year-old son, X, on his shoulders, and in a prominent seat at Trump's first joint address to Congress since his return to the White House. In an especially exuberant display of his power, Trump hoisted a a blinged-out chainsaw gifted by Argentina's President Javier Milei during an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February. After Musk's role in the White House led to a public backlash against Tesla, Trump in March tried to help by opening the White House South Lawn to showcase Tesla vehicles despite blatant ethical concerns. More: Elon Musk wields chainsaw on stage, says he and Trump are battling 'the matrix' But gradually, Musk started to fade away as he became a political liability for Trump. Polling has consistently showed more Americans have unfavorable views of Musk than favorable. Musk clashed with several top Trump officials over his cost-cutting agenda including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trump's top trade adviser Peter Navarro. And Musk suffered an embarrassing setback when he spent $20 million to help the Republican-backed candidate in a state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin ‒ declaring "the future of America and Western civilization" was at stake ‒ only to watch the Democrat when by 10 percentage points. During a Cabinet meeting Trump opened up to reporters in April, Musk spoke only for a few minutes. It was a far cry from Trump's first Cabinet meeting in February, when Musk ‒ wearing a black T-shirt that read "tech support" ‒ dominated the show as he touted DOGE's efforts to purge the government alongside Cabinet secretaries. A few weeks later, Musk announced he would be scaling back his role at DOGE after Tesla on April 22 reported massive 71% first quarter profit losses coinciding with his polarizing tenure in the White House. More: Tesla profits plummet 71% amid backlash to Musk's role with Trump administration Musk's exit as the DOGE leader came as his designation as a "special government employee" ‒ which allowed him to stay on the job for 130 calendar days a year ‒ ended. His departure leaves an enormous void at DOGE, and it is unclear how much power the group will maintain without its famous leader. Other top DOGE employees followed Musk out the door, a White House official confirmed. That includes Steve Davis, Musk's top lieutenant who oversaw DOGE's day-to-day operations, publicist Katie Miller and DOGE's top attorney James Burnham. Like Musk, each was working as special government employees. More: Elon Musk takes a backseat as Donald Trump reaches 100 days in office DOGE, which has been staffed by more than 100 employees, is set to continue operations until the summer of 2026 under an executive order Trump signed in January. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not point to any one individual who will replace Musk, noting that several DOGE employees have "onboarded as political appointees" at the various agencies they've worked to overhaul. "The DOGE leaders are each and every member of the president's Cabinet and the president himself," Leavitt said at a May 29 briefing with reporters. More: Elon Musk leaves the Trump administration, capping his run as federal government slasher In court filings fighting challenges to Musk's authority, the White House had previously argued he was a White House advisor overseeing DOGE ‒ and not a DOGE employee himself. Instead, Trump attorneys argued the DOGE administrator was Amy Gleason, a lesser-known DOGE aide and former official at the U.S. Digital Service. Leavitt, however, did not mention Gleason as she addressed DOGE's future. Musk's frustrations in his cost-cutting crusade extended to Trump's domestic agenda outlined in legislation the president has called coined his "big, beautiful bill" The day before his departure, Musk broke with Trump by criticizing the reconciliation bill, which includes Trump's tax cuts, border security measures and other spending measures that" Musk argued undercuts DOGE's central mission to reduce 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 in an interview May 27 on "CBS Sunday Morning." More: Elon Musk 'disappointed' by the cost of Trump's tax bill, says it undermines DOGE work The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $3.8 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years. 'I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don't know if it can be both. My personal opinion,' Musk said in the interview. Trump did not take a swipe at Musk when a reporter asked for a response to Musk's remarks. He instead suggested that the high price tag is the result of tough decisions to keep all Republicans on board in the House, where the GOP has a narrow majority. "We will be negotiating that bill. I'm not happy about certain aspects of it, but I'm thrilled by other aspects of it," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on May 28. Leavitt also declined to take a parting shot at Musk when asked about his criticism. "We thank him for his service," she said. "We thank him for getting DOGE off of the ground and the efforts to cut waste fraud and abuse will continue Mush, however, still managed to find the spotlight despite his plans to take on a smaller DOGE role. Musk tagged along during Trump's three-country swing to the Middle East in mid-May. He was present for Trump's combative May 21 Oval Office meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Musk's native country. And he continued to speak publicly about politics and his experience with DOGE even as he took part in media interviews designed to spotlight his work with SpaceX and Tesla. More: 'I've done enough': Elon Musk says he's going to spend 'a lot less' money on politics Musk, A Republican megadonor who helped bankroll Trump's 2024 campaign, last week said he intends to substantially cut back his political spending in future elections as he focuses more time on his businesses. "I think in terms of political spending, I'm going to do a lot less in the future," Musk said May 20 at the Bloomberg News Qatar Economic Forum. "I think I've done enough." One week later, in an interview with the Washington Post, Musk complained about DOGE getting unfairly blamed for anything that went wrong in the Trump administration. 'DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything,' Musk said. 'So, like, something bad would happen anywhere, and we would get blamed for it even if we had nothing to do with it.' Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Musk goes from Trump's chainsaw-wielding sidekick to suddenly gone
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump backs Musk's cost-cutting after report on billionaire's alleged drug use
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump commended Elon Musk for helping cut government spending despite "outrageous abuse" on the day of a report about the billionaire adviser's alleged drug use during the 2024 campaign. 'He willingly accepted the outrageous abuse and slander and lies and attacks because he does love our country,' Trump said in the Oval Office. 'Americans owe him a great debt of gratitude.' 'He had to go through the slings and the arrows, which is a shame because he's an incredible patriot,' Trump added later. A reporter tried to ask Musk about a New York Times report about his alleged drug use during the 2024 campaign. But Musk, who said, "some of the slingers are in this room," dismissed the question from a publication that he said had falsely written about Russian interference in the 2016 election. "Let's move on," Musk said, standing behind the president at the Resolute Desk. The meeting came the same day the New York Times reported that Musk allegedly used drugs such as ketamine more frequently than previously known while campaigning with Trump in 2024. The paper said it was unclear whether Musk used drugs while working for Trump in the Department of Government Efficiency. Trump commended Musk repeatedly during the press conference for finding at least $160 billion in savings and said the billionaire corporate chief would continue to offer advice about how to make the government more efficient. 'Elon has worked tirelessly helping lead the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations," Trump said. Musk, whose last day as a government adviser was May 30, has been critical of the House-passed package of legislation filled with Trump's priorities to cut taxes and bolster border enforcement. As the Senate prepares to debate the bill, Musk argued it didn't cut government spending enough. 'Elon's really not leaving," Trump said. "He's going to be back and forth, I think, I have a feeling." Musk, the CEO of carmaker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX, and owner of social-media platform X, acknowledged in March 2024 that he used prescription ketamine to combat bouts of depression. He worried corporate executives by puffing on a marijuana cigarette during a podcast in 2018. The New York Times story built on a Wall Street Journal story in January 2024 that alleged Musk used drugs such as LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. The campaign featured some erratic behavior, such as Musk jumping on stage behind Trump during an October rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Musk didn't respond to reporters' questions related to his drug use, but he has previously acknowledged using "small amount" of ketamine "once every other week" and marijuana "almost never." The New York Times reported that his ketamine use was often enough to affect his bladder. Ketamine is an anesthetic that also has some hallucinogenic effects, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The drug gained widespread recognition after the overdose death of 'Friends' television star Matthew Perry in October 2023. Musk told journalist Don Lemon during a YouTube interview in March 2024 that he took ketamine occasionally to combat depression. 'Ketamine is helpful for getting someone out of a negative frame of mind,' Musk said. He denied abusing it. 'If you use too much ketamine, you can't really get work done,' Musk said. 'I have a lot of work.' Musk could also be seen on video smoking marijuana during the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in September 2018. He said he partook 'almost never.' Tesla's chief accounting officer, Dave Morton, quit just a month into the job, the company said in a filing the same day as that podcast. The company's chief people officer, Gaby Toledano, also announced she would not return from a leave of absence, just over a year after joining the company. Lemon asked Musk about smoking marijuana. 'I had one puff,' Musk said. 'I think anyone who smokes pot can tell I don't know how to smoke pot.' 'I can't really get wasted because I can't get my work done,' Musk added. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced on May 26 that the agency was investigating cocaine found in the White House when President Joe Biden was in office in 2023. The Secret Service closed that investigation in July 2023, citing "a lack of physical evidence," and concluded an investigation into the cocaine mystery without identifying a suspect. "Shortly after swearing in, the Director and I evaluated a number of cases of potential public corruption that, understandably, have garnered public interest," Bongino wrote. The FBI didn't respond to a request for comment about Musk's alleged drug use. Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, brushed off a reporter's question on May 30 about whether the administration was concerned about Musk's possible drug use. 'The drugs that we are concerned about are the drugs coming across the southern border,' Miller said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump praises Musk cutting government spending despite 'attacks'
