What Musk's Exit Means for DOGE and the Trump Administration

Yahoo

4 days ago

Musk, who has spent nearly his entire career working in Silicon Valley, has also made no secret of his frustrations with Washington. Credit - Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
When Elon Musk launched into his government crusade with a chainsaw in hand at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, few in Washington understood just how disruptive his tenure would become.
But three months later, as the billionaire entrepreneur is set to step down from his role as the most visible face behind the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he leaves behind a complicated legacy that includes thousands of layoffs, the evisceration of government agencies, and frequent clashes with top members of the Trump Administration. Musk also leaves Washington well short of his goal of reducing federal spending by $1 trillion, only having cut around $175 billion.
Musk's role working for President Donald Trump was always intended to be temporary, and he had recently expressed interest in returning his focus to his businesses. But his departure, announced late Wednesday on X, the social platform he owns, marks a striking turning point for the federal government's ambitious cost-cutting agency he helped define.
'The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government,' Musk wrote of his efforts to cut federal spending. He added that his 'scheduled time' as a special government employee had come to an end, since he is not permitted to work more than 130 days in a 365-day period under that designation.
Here's what to know about the future of DOGE without Musk.
As a special government employee, Musk was only permitted to serve in the Trump Administration for 130 days. That deadline was set to expire on Friday, May 30.
Musk, who has spent nearly his entire career working in Silicon Valley, has also made no secret of his frustrations with Washington. He recently told The Washington Post that the 'federal bureaucracy situation is much worse' than he expected, and it was 'an uphill battle trying to improve things in D.C., to say the least.' He added in an interview with Ars Technica that 'I probably did spend a bit too much time on politics' and that he intentionally 'reduced' his involvement 'significantly in recent weeks.'
Read more: Revisiting Elon Musk's Most Controversial Moments in the White House
Trump had also clashed with top White House officials during his tenure in the government. In April, he criticized White House trade adviser Peter Navarro over the sweeping tariffs Trump had imposed on trading partners. In a series of posts on X, Musk called Navarro a 'moron' and added that Tesla 'has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks.' He followed with an apology, saying the comparison was 'so unfair to bricks.'
His exit also comes one day after he publicly criticized Trump's $2.2 trillion domestic spending bill that passed the House last week, saying he was 'disappointed' that it would increase the federal deficit. 'I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful,' Musk told CBS News. 'But I don't know if it could be both.' The Congressional Budget Office has said that the bill's tax provisions would increase federal deficits by $3.8 trillion over the decade, while cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and other services would only reduce spending by slightly more than $1 trillion over the same period.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday thanked Musk 'for getting DOGE off the ground' and announced that 'the efforts to cut waste, fraud and abuse will continue' after Musk's departure.
Musk's once commanding presence in the Trump Administration appeared to diminish in recent weeks. He had previously appeared with Trump in the Oval Office and his Cabinet meetings, often donning the President's signature MAGA gear. Trump had even bought a Tesla that he showed for cameras on the White House lawn as protests and demonstrations against Musk's company began gaining steam. Tesla's stock slid significantly amid concerns that his unpopularity was damaging the electric-vehicle maker's brand.
Musk announced he would pivot back to running his companies '24/7' now that he's finished with DOGE, claiming 'I must be super focused on X/xAI and Tesla.' He also vowed to substantially cut back his political spending in future elections after he pumped nearly $290 million into the 2024 election helping Trump and other Republican candidates. "I think in terms of political spending, I'm going to do a lot less in the future," Musk said on May 20. "I think I've done enough."
The U.S. DOGE Service, launched by executive order on Trump's first day back in office, was created to eradicate what the White House called waste, fraud and abuse from the government—one of the President's campaign promises. Trump tapped Musk, the world's richest person, to lead the effort after he donated more than $290 million to help his campaign and other Republican candidates. (In later court filings the government argued that Amy Gleason was DOGE's administrator, though Musk had been the public face of DOGE).
Musk's unorthodox—and often secretive—slash-and-burn tactics often sowed chaos during his tenure in the government. Early on, he was criticized for sending his team of DOGE representatives—mostly young engineers—into federal buildings to gain access to sensitive internal systems. It was part of his effort to shutter agencies that Musk and others in the Administration disliked, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Those efforts wreaked havoc on federal workers and prompted a litany of lawsuits seeking to rein in Musk's chainsaw, many of them questioning the legality of DOGE's sweeping access to confidential data and the dismantling of agencies. Critics also argued that the government was consolidating too much power under Musk, a private citizen.
His efforts to reshape the government also led to more than 200,000 federal workers and contractors being laid off. The firings began after the government's offer for federal workers to accept a so-called buyout—an offer initiated by Musk allies at the Office of Personnel Management—expired on Feb. 12. Musk later introduced a controversial requirement that employees send emails listing five things they accomplished each week, an effort he said would increase accountability.
On cost-cutting measures, the DOGE receipts posted to its website show it has terminated more than 10,000 federal contracts it deems unnecessary or wasteful, including high-profile agreements related to federal technology infrastructure and healthcare programs. The contracts span around 40 federal departments and agencies, according to DOGE, totaling roughly $32 billion of the $175 billion it claims to have saved. Musk had originally said he planned for $1 trillion in annual spending cuts.
White House officials say that DOGE will continue following Musk's departure, but are yet to announce details on its revised leadership structure. Leavitt, the press secretary, said that DOGE will be led by 'each and every member of the President's cabinet and the President himself.' She added that the goal remains the same: to cut waste, fraud, and abuse from the government.
Some have speculated that Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget known for his role drafting the conservative Project 2025 agenda, could soon take the helm of DOGE. The longtime Trump ally and budget guru worked closely with Musk on the initiative, leading efforts to cut agency regulations and pushing a controversial idea in favor of Trump's authority to impound funds.
The agency is scheduled to sunset in 2026. The White House declined to comment when asked if Musk would retain an informal advisory role.
Musk confirmed that DOGE will continue without him: 'Is Buddha needed for Buddhism?' he asked reporters in the White House. 'Buddha isn't alive anymore. You wouldn't ask the question: 'Who would lead Buddhism?'
Write to Nik Popli at [e-mail].