Trump, Musk offer show of unity as Tesla chief departs government
US President Donald Trump (right) bidding farewell to billionaire Elon Musk on May 30, as he departs the Trump administration to focus on his business empire. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on May 30 that billionaire Elon Musk will remain a close adviser, even after the Tesla chief executive officer departs the administration following a chaotic four-month tenure that saw him disrupt dozens of agencies in his effort to slash government spending.
During a joint press conference in the Oval Office, Mr Trump lauded Mr Musk and defended his cost-cutting campaign as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge.
The group has eliminated thousands of jobs and cancelled billions of dollars in spending - including the majority of US foreign aid - but has thus far fallen far short of Mr Musk's lofty initial promises.
'Elon is really not leaving. He's going to be back and forth,' Mr Trump said from behind the Resolute desk, as Mr Musk stood to his right, wearing a black Doge hat and a T-shirt that read 'The Dogefather' in the style of the movie The Godfather.
The press conference appeared aimed at showing unity after Mr Musk prompted frustration among White House officials this week by criticising Mr Trump's sweeping tax and spending Bill as too expensive.
Some senior aides, including deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and chief of staff Susie Wiles, saw Mr Musk's remarks on the tax Bill as an open break from the administration, with Mr Miller particularly irked by the comments, a source familiar with the matter said.
Mr Trump gave Mr Musk a large golden key inside a wooden box bearing his signature, a gift he said he reserved only for "very special people."
Mr Musk, in turn, admired the gold finishings that Mr Trump has installed around the Oval Office.
The White House and senior aides had insisted earlier in Mr Trump's term that Mr Musk, the world's richest man, was a key figure who wasn't going anywhere.
But more recently, they began pointing to the expiration of his 130-day mandate as a special government employee, which was set to end around May 30, as a natural endpoint.
Mr Musk, meanwhile, has said he intends to devote most of his energy to his business empire, including Tesla and SpaceX, after some investors expressed concern that Doge was occupying too much of his time.
He has also said he plans to ratchet back his political donations, after he spent nearly US$300 million (S$390 million) backing Mr Trump's presidential campaign and those of other Republicans in 2024.
But he told reporters on May 30 that he would continue to be part of Mr Trump's circle of advisers.
"I expect to remain a friend and an adviser, and certainly, if there's anything the president wants me to do, I'm at the president's service," he said.
US President Donald Trump holding his gift for billionaire Elon Musk during their farewell meeting at the White House on May 30.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Cuts fall short
Mr Musk initially claimed Doge would slash at least US$2 trillion in federal spending. Four months into its efforts, Doge now estimates it has saved US$175 billion.
But the details it has posted on its website, where it gives the only public accounting of those changes, add up to less than half of that figure.
US Treasury summaries reviewed by Reuters show that the agencies targeted by Doge have cut about US$19 billion in combined spending compared to the same period in 2024, far below Mr Musk's original target and amounting to just about 0.5 per cent of total federal expenditures.
Mr Trump and Doge have managed to cut nearly 12 per cent, or 260,000, of the 2.3 million-strong federal civilian workforce largely through threats of firings, buyouts and early retirement offers, a Reuters review of agency departures found.
Mr Musk's prominent status as the face of Doge's cost-cutting efforts has prompted widespread protests at Tesla outlets in the US and Europe, driving down both its sales and its stock price.
Mr Musk said on May 30 that downsizing the government had proven more difficult than he expected, blaming what he called the "banal evil of bureaucracy." But he also expressed confidence that Doge would eventually achieve much deeper savings.
"This is not the end of Doge but really the beginning," he said. REUTERS
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