Elon Musk leaving Trump administration, Internet says ‘Anyway, DOGE was a failure'
Billionaire Elon Musk has bid farewell as a Special Government Employee to Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, known as "DoGE" — formed earlier this year. The space and technology billionaire confirmed his departure in a post on X.
Musk was appointed as a "special government employee" - a designation that allows individuals to serve in a government role for up to 130 days per year. Since Donald Trump's inauguration on 20 January this year, Musk's term was expected to hit that limit by the end of May.
Read | Elon Musk exits Trump administration as 'Special Government Employee'
In his post, Musk thanked Trump for the role and said he believed DOGE would become a 'way of life throughout government.'
Following Elon Musk's announcement of his departure from DOGE, social media, as expected, had plenty to say. While the majority of internet users wished the SpaceX billionaire well for his future ventures, one user took a different route and asked Grok to summarise Musk's accomplishments during his time at DOGE.
Read | Elon Musk reacts after Starship megarocket explodes. Again. Says, 'Big improvement… lots of good data…'
Grok, a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by xAI, is built on a large language model (LLM) of the same name. It was launched in November 2023 by Elon Musk himself. Designed to be conversational, Grok is known for its "sense of humour" and direct access to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
True to form, Grok appeared to lean into its "sense of humour" in this instance too, as the AI chatbot remarked, 'The true impact of DOGE remains debated amid ongoing scrutiny.'
When asked what Musk's achievements were at DOGE, Grok replied, 'As a Special Government Employee, Elon Musk led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), claiming $160 billion in savings by terminating wasteful contracts, like $255 million from 269 contracts, and modernising IT systems, such as digitising the OPM retirement process. DOGE also cleaned Social Security records and supported voter integrity measures.' Grok added, 'However, these efforts face criticism for potential costs of $135 billion in lost productivity, legal challenges, and service disruptions. Concerns about Musk's business conflicts and political motivations persist, with public opinion divided, as 54% view him unfavourably.'
Read | Elon Musk leaves Trump administration LIVE: Tesla chief says '… time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end'
Another user praised Musk for his contributions to the United States of America, saying: 'I honestly don't know if we could've saved America if @ElonMusk hadn't spent $40 billion to buy Twitter and rescue free speech.' This particular user's take? 'He absolutely deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom.'
One of them asked, 'What was achieved other than Elon breaking things and leaving them broken?' while another commented, 'This has damaged your brand beyond anything you can imagine.'
A third user said: 'DOGE has been a failed endeavour. Whether it's family, business or public, it's hard to cut the money strings after you have started them.'
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Time of India
23 minutes ago
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NDTV
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Whether that figure proves to be accurate is difficult to measure, especially because DOGE routinely inflated or mischaracterized its work. But it falls short of President Bill Clinton's initiative three decades ago, which resulted in $136 billion in savings - the equivalent of more than $240 billion today. Elaine Kamarck, a key figure in the Clinton administration, said they focused on making the government more responsive and updating antiquated internal procedures. The work took years. "We went about it methodically, department by department," she said. The effort also reduced the federal workforce by more than 400,000 employees. However, Musk did little to seek insight from people who knew the inner workings of government. "They made some changes without really knowing what they were doing," said Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies for the libertarian think tank Cato Institute. He said there were "a lot of unforced errors." 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Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
Stephen Miller's wife Katie Miller is following Elon Musk 'full time', hours after his tweet directed at Tesla CEO's criticism of Trump Bill said: You cannot ...
Stephen Miller 's wife Katie Miller , spokeswoman for the Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ), is leaving the White House to work full-time for . The development comes after Musk's official departure from his advisory role in the Trump administration. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Notably, Katie shared an X post, quoting Musk's previous quote: 'DOGE is a way of life, like Buddhism'. Musk criticizes 'One Big Beautiful Bill' The Tesla and CEO recently said that he was 'disappointed' with the 'One Big Beautiful Bill', claiming it contradicted the budget-cutting goals he pursued during his tenure with DOGE i.e. Department of Government Efficiency. Katie's husband and senior Trump aide Stephen Miller, critically responded to Musk's recent remarks. 'I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don't know if it can be both,' he said. 'My personal opinion.' Stephen Miller counters Musk's criticism Shortly after Musk's comments about the bill, Stephen Miller took to X (formerly Twitter) to clarify the limitations of the budget bill. 'Under senate budget rules, you cannot cut discretionary spending (only mandatory) in a reconciliation bill,' Miller wrote. 'So DOGE cuts would have to be done through what is known as a rescissions package or an appropriations bill,' he added. He further stated that the bill 'does not fund the departments of government' nor finance federal agencies, pushing back against Musk's claim that it undermined DOGE's mission. Katie Miller heads to Tesla-SpaceX world Katie Miller, who previously served as a Special Government Employee — a temporary designation for private-sector professionals working in government — is expected to take on a new role with Musk, possibly involving his media relations for Tesla and SpaceX, according to CNN. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Her departure comes as Musk phases out of political involvement and refocuses on his companies. 'I think I probably did spend a bit too much time on politics,' Musk said in a recent interview with Ars Technica. Elon Musk exits DOGE Musk officially resigned from his post leading DOGE yesterday. In a post on X, he announced 'As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending'. 'The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government,' he added.
