Latest news with #governmentefficiency
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Business
- 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
22 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Musk leaves D.C. with black eye: 5 takeaways from Oval Office sendoff with Trump
Elon Musk arrived in Washington, D.C., with high hopes. He left with a literal and reputational black eye. President Donald Trump marked the end of Musk's tenure as a government employee with an event in the Oval Office May 30, where he thanked the billionaire for his work leading the Department of Government Efficiency and gave him a golden key. 'Elon's delivered a colossal change in the old ways of doing business in Washington,' Trump declared. The warm sendoff came after Musk struggled to unlock cost savings in the federal government, delivering far less than what he promised. He leaves Washington D.C. a much more polarizing figure, the subject of intense criticism and protests that have dinged his business empire. Musk showed up in the Oval Office dressed all in black, from his DOGE hat to his t-shirt and blazer. He also had a black eye given to him by his young son. More: Elon Musk's rise and fall: From Trump's chainsaw-wielding sidekick to a swift exit Musk's DOGE work, meanwhile, left his reputation badly bruised, which formed the subtext of much of the Oval Office gathering. Trump complained about the billionaire suffering "the slings and the arrows" and Musk said DOGE became a "bogeyman." Musk used DOGE to bulldoze through the federal government, shuttering whole agencies and instituting mass layoffs. The result, he said May 30, is about $160 billion in savings so far, far below the $2 trillion he talked about on the campaign trail and $1 trillion he pledged after Trump took office. Critics complained that he hurt vital programs with indiscriminate cutting and nonpartisan researchers calculated that most of the savings will be wiped out by the costs of reinstating workers whose firings were illegal, defending those cases in court, and other effects like lost revenue from shrinking the IRS. The resulting backlash took a toll. The billionaire is now stepping away from his government work to focus more on his businesses such as electric car company Tesla, which was targeted by protesters and has seen sales slip. Here are five takeaways from the Oval Office event. 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. "My time as a special government employee necessarily had to end, it was a limited-time thing," Musk said May 30. The billionaire vowed that DOGE's work will continue, though, calling it a "way of life" that is "permeating throughout the government." Musk also said he'll still continue to visit and consult with Trump. 'Elon's really not leaving, he's going to be back and forth… it's his baby," Trump said. Yet Musk has taken steps to distance himself from politics and the Trump administration after a tumultuous period. He recently said he plans to spend "a lot less" money on campaigns − after dropping $290 million getting Trump elected and $20 million on a losing judicial race in Wisconsin − and attracted attention for criticizing Trump's top legislative priority, saying it would add to the deficit and "undermine the work that the DOGE team is doing." The backlash to DOGE hurt Musk's reputation. He also suffered some physical pain recently, the result of "horsing around" with his 5-year-old son, X. "I said, 'Go ahead, punch me in the face.' And he did it," Musk said in the Oval Office in explaining his black eye. The injury prompted immediate speculation on social media. Musk's 14 children have been a source of fascination as he stepped into the public spotlight to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, with X spending weeks tagging along in the Oval Office and around Capitol Hill. The Oval Office meeting came the same day the New York Times reported that Musk allegedly frequently used drugs such as ketamine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms 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. A reporter tried to ask Musk about his alleged drug use during the 2024 campaign. But Musk dodged the question and criticized the New York Times' reporting on Russian interference in the 2016 election. "Let's move on," Musk said, standing behind the president at the Resolute Desk. 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 smoking marijuana 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 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. Musk's shiner from his son wasn't the only physical incident that came up during the Oval Office event. Trump offered some advice for French President Emmanuel Macron after a video of Macron's wife apparently shoving him in the face in front of an open plane door went viral: "Make sure the door remains closed." Trump downplayed the incident when asked about it. "He's fine too. They're fine," Trump said. "They're two really good people I know them very well." Macron called speculation about the incident with his wife, Brigitte Macron, "nonsense," saying it showed the couple "joking around." The clip was taken after the couple landed in Hanoi, Vietnam, as part of a Southeast Asia tour. Trump also fielded a question about pardoning the rapper known as Diddy, saying he hadn't been approached about it but not ruling out the clemency move. Fox News Reporter Peter Doocey questioned Trump on May 30 about a possible pardon for Sean Combs, the musician who is on federal trial in New York for racketeering and sex trafficking. The two men have been friends in the past. "Well, nobody's asked," Trump replied. "I know people are thinking about it." Contributing: Joey Garrison This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump gives Musk Oval Office sendoff after DOGE turbulence
Asharq Al-Awsat
an hour ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Trump, Musk Offer Show of Unity as Tesla CEO Departs Government
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that billionaire Elon Musk will remain a close adviser, after the Tesla CEO ended a chaotic four-month stint leading the administration's sweeping cost-cutting campaign. During a farewell event in the Oval Office, Trump lauded Musk's work as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, which has eliminated thousands of jobs and canceled billions of dollars in spending - including the majority of US foreign aid - but has so far fallen short of Musk's lofty initial promises. "Elon is really not leaving. He's going to be back and forth," Trump said from behind the Resolute Desk, as 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." Musk announced this week he would be departing the administration at the end of his 130-day mandate as a special government employee, which was set to expire around May 30. The world's richest man - who spent nearly $300 million in 2024 to help Trump and other Republicans get elected - exerted enormous power during the first few weeks of Trump's term. DOGE upended the federal bureaucracy, dismantling agencies, shutting down long-standing programs and issuing sweeping mandates with little warning, resulting in tens of thousands of layoffs. But his influence at the White House appeared to wane amid complaints from cabinet members about his approach. At the same time, he faced mounting pressure from shareholders worried that his expanding political role was becoming a liability for his companies. Widespread anti-Musk protests at Tesla outlets across the US and Europe contributed to declining sales and a drop in the company's stock price. Other ventures in his sprawling empire, including SpaceX and Starlink, were expected to benefit but also came under scrutiny from his close ties to Trump. Friday's White House event was intended as a show of unity after Musk prompted frustration among White House officials this week by criticizing 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 Musk's remarks on the tax bill as an open break from the administration, with Miller particularly irked by the comments, a source familiar with the matter said. According to Reuters, Trump presented Musk with a large golden key inside a wooden box bearing his signature, a gift he said he reserved only for "very special people." "He had to go through the slings and arrows, which is a shame because he's an incredible patriot," Trump said. Musk, in turn, admired the gold finishings that Trump has installed around the Oval Office and explained away a bruised eye by saying his 5-year-old son had punched him in the face while the two were playing around. In addition to saying he would direct more of his energy toward his businesses, Musk has also said he plans to ratchet back his political donations. On Friday, he told reporters he would remain part of 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. CUTS FALL SHORT Musk initially claimed DOGE would slash at least $2 trillion in federal spending. DOGE now estimates it has saved $175 billion, but the details 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 $19 billion in combined spending compared to the same period last year, far below Musk's original target and amounting to just about 0.5% of total federal expenditures. Trump and DOGE have managed to cut nearly 12%, 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. Musk said on Friday that downsizing the government had proven more difficult than he expected, blaming what he called the "banal evil of bureaucracy." Even so, he expressed confidence that DOGE would eventually achieve much deeper savings. "This is not the end of DOGE but really the beginning," he said.
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Business
- Fox News
DOGE slashes over $5 million by cutting thousands of unused software licenses
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) saved over $5 million a year after discovering several agencies paid for far more software than they were actually using. For example, the IRS was paying for 3,000 licenses for software but only used 25. Once DOGE discovered the waste, it cut the remaining 99% of the licenses. "Agencies often have more software licenses than employees, and the licenses are often idle (i.e. paid for, but not installed on any computer)," DOGE wrote in a post on X. "These audits have been continuously run since first posted in February." The Department of Labor slashed 68% of unused "project planning" software licenses, DOGE noted, and the Securities and Exchange Commission cut 78% of the remote desktop software programs it was paying for after finding the commission was only using 22% of the programs. According to DOGE, the three changes saved over $5 million a year. DOGE raised a red flag in February that agencies were paying for more software licenses than employees when it shared a post about the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). With 13,000 employees, GSA was paying for 37,000 licenses for WinZip, a program used to archive and compress files. The agency also pays for 19,000 training software subscriptions, 7,500 project management software seats for a division with only 5,500 employees and three different ticketing systems. The most recent post comes as billionaire Elon Musk steps down as the face of DOGE. While DOGE was tasked with cutting $2 trillion from the budget, its efforts led to roughly $175 billion in savings due to asset sales, contract cancellations, fraud payment cuts and other ways to eliminate costs, according to an update on DOGE's website. The savings translate to about $1,087 in per taxpayer, the website notes. Musk told reporters in the Oval Office Friday the savings will continue to build, and he is confident total cuts will amount to $1 trillion in the coming years. "The DOGE influence will only grow stronger," Musk said. "I liken it to a sort of person of Buddhism. It's like a way of life, so it is permeating throughout the government. And I'm confident that, over time, we'll see $1 trillion of savings, and a reduction in $1 trillion of waste, fraud reduction."
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Drugs, marital advice and that black eye: key takeaways from Trump's Oval Office send-off for Elon Musk
Donald Trump hosted an Oval Office press conference with Elon Musk on Friday to mark the end of the tech billionaire's tenure as a special government employee overseeing the so-called 'department of government efficiency', or Doge. Musk's departure comes after weeks of increasing pressure over his time leading Doge, in which he slashed thousands of jobs, resources and public spending. Here are the key takeaways from the event: Musk 'is really not leaving' and many of his Doge team will stay on in the administration, Trump told reporters on what was meant to be Musk's official last day as a 'special government employee'. 'Elon is really not leaving,' Trump said. 'He's going to be back and forth. I think I have a feeling it's his baby, and I think he's going to be doing a lot of things.' Musk later declared 'this is not the end of Doge but really the beginning', adding he will continue to visit the White House as a 'friend and adviser' to the president. 'I hope to continue to provide advice whenever the president would like,' Musk said. 'I hope so,' Trump replied. Trump praised Musk as 'one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced' and paid glowing tribute to the tech billionaire's 'sweeping and consequential' efforts to slash the federal workforce and reduce the size of government. The lavish praise came just days after Musk publicly criticised Trump's tax spending bill, saying he was 'disappointed' with it and claiming it 'undermines the work that the Doge team is doing'. Musk's comments appeared to indicate that the honeymoon between the two men was over, but on Friday, there were no signs of friction between the pair. Trump presented Musk with a large golden key emblazoned with the White House insignia, which he said he only gave to 'very special people' as a thank-you from the country. Musk attended the press conference wearing a black Doge cap, a black jacket and a black T-shirt with the words 'The Dogefather' – as well as a visibly bruised right eye. Asked about the bruise, Musk said his five-year-old son, X Æ A-12, had punched him in the face: 'I was just horsing around with X and I said: 'Go ahead, punch me in the face.' And he did.' 'I didn't really feel much at the time,' he added. 'But I guess it bruises up.' Musk quipped that he wasn't 'anywhere near France' at the time, a reference to a viral video appearing to show French president Emmanuel Macron's wife, Brigitte, pushing Macron in the face. Asked about the video of Macron and his wife and whether he had any 'marital advice' for the couple, Trump replied: 'Make sure the door remains closed.' 'He's fine. They're fine,' Trump added. 'They're two really good people I know very well, and I don't know what that was all about, but I know him very well, and they're fine.' Musk brushed off a New York Times report about his alleged drug use while serving as one of Trump's closest advisers. 'Let's move on,' he said when asked about the article, before railing against the paper for their 'lies about the Russiagate hoax'. According to the Times, Musk engaged in extensive drug consumption during his rise to political prominence, regularly consuming ketamine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. His regular medication box contained pills bearing Adderall markings alongside other substances, the paper said. His use of ketamine was so frequent that he told people it caused bladder problems, the report says. Sources told the paper that he consumed the powerful anaesthetic sometimes daily rather than the 'small amount' taken 'about once every two weeks' he claimed in interviews.
