Elon Musk said he is stepping down from his role in the Trump administration after leading a major push to slash the size of the US government.
In a post on his social media platform X, the billionaire thanked President Donald Trump for the chance to work as head of Trump’s unofficial “department of government efficiency,” or DOGE.
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“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 wrote on X.
“The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
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.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 29, 2025
The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.
Although his departure was expected – Musk was only allowed to serve up to 130 days per year – it came shortly after he publicly criticized Trump’s new budget plan, which includes major tax cuts and increased defense spending.
In an interview with CBS, Musk said the bill would raise the federal deficit and “undermines the work” of DOGE.
“I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful,” Musk said. “But I don’t know if it could be both.”
DOGE, a Trump-era unofficial agency purportedly aimed at reducing government spending, has overseen an estimated 260,000 job cuts in the federal workforce since January.
Federal judges later reversed some of those layoffs because they violated the US Constitution’s strict separation of powers. The United States’ founding document gives the power to enact laws, create departments or agencies, and fund or defund legislation to the US Congress alone. not to the executive branch.
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In certain cases, employees were mistakenly fired, including nuclear weapons security staff working in the Department of Energy, the department entrusted with the 5,500 or so hydrogen bomb warheads in the US nuclear weapons arsenal. In another situation, civil servants working to prevent an Ebola virus pandemic were fired.
Additionally, Musk gained access to all bank, financial, and personal information in the US Treasury, creating a data breach, wherein Silicon Valley whiz-kids with no background checks or security clearances could download the private data of US citizens and anyone else with financial accounts worldwide.
Musk had promised to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, but later lowered that goal to $150 billion. His aggressive efforts drew criticism from lawmakers, unions, and the public. He also reportedly clashed with members of Trump’s Cabinet behind closed doors.
Last month, Musk said he would step back from politics to focus on his companies. “DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything,” he told The Washington Post.
His time in government has also coincided with major troubles at Tesla, the electric car company he leads. Tesla’s sales fell 13% in the first quarter of 2025 – the worst in its history – and its stock dropped by up to 45% before recovering some losses.
Activists have staged protests and vandalized Tesla vehicles and charging stations, blaming Musk’s political ties. The violence led US Attorney General Pam Bondi to call such attacks “domestic terrorism.”
Despite the backlash, Musk told a forum in Doha, Qatar, this week that he plans to stay at the helm of Tesla for at least the next five years. He also said he would reduce his political donations after spending nearly $300 million to support Trump and Republican candidates in 2024.
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