Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is stepping down from his role in President Donald Trump’s administration after a high-profile and contentious tenure as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). His departure marks the end of a dramatic chapter in the Trump White House, where Musk was granted sweeping authority to cut government spending and reduce federal workforce numbers.
Musk, who served as a Special Government Employee — a temporary designation allowing up to 130 days of federal service annually — announced his exit via his social media platform X on Wednesday.
“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 posted Wednesday on the social media platform he owns, 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.
A White House official confirmed that Musk’s “offboarding” had begun, and that the decision was finalised at a senior staff level. The exit, though expected due to the time-limited nature of his role, comes amid growing tensions with Trump’s inner circle — particularly over the administration’s massive new tax-and-spending bill, dubbed the “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
From chainsaws to cuts: Musk’s tumultuous DOGE reign
Since his appointment, Musk became the public face of the DOGE initiative, a Trump-era drive to eliminate what the administration called waste and inefficiency in the federal government. Armed with a red metallic chainsaw at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, Musk declared:
“This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy.”
DOGE claimed it had already saved taxpayers $175 billion, though critics, including fact-checkers, have questioned the accuracy of those figures. Initially promising $2 trillion in cuts, Musk later scaled down the goal to $150 billion.
The programme led to a 12% reduction in the federal civilian workforce, with an estimated 260,000 jobs lost through layoffs, buyouts, and voluntary redundancies. But the rapid execution often came at a cost: courts reversed some mass firings, and key agencies, including parts of the US nuclear programme, mistakenly lost staff.
Musk’s aggressive approach ruffled feathers within the administration. Despite early support, cabinet secretaries grew increasingly resistant to his directives. President Trump reportedly reminded department heads in March that they retained final say over staffing — not Musk.
Tensions grew further after Musk clashed with senior officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and trade adviser Peter Navarro, whom Musk allegedly called “a moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks.”
Fallout over Trump’s spending bill
The final straw appears to have been Musk’s public criticism of Trump’s flagship tax-and-spending proposal. In an interview with CBS, Musk said:
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it. It undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.”
He went on to remark:
“I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful. But I don’t know if it can be both.”
Trump, responding during a White House event, acknowledged his own reservations but defended the bill as a necessary compromise:
“I’m not happy about certain aspects of it, but I’m thrilled by other aspects of it.”
Republican lawmakers were reportedly unhappy with Musk’s critique. Sources have said that Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and others were “irked,” prompting urgent White House calls to Senate Republicans to reassure them of Trump’s support for the bill.
Despite his vocal opposition, House Speaker Mike Johnson praised Musk and the DOGE team for uncovering “waste, fraud, and abuse” in federal programmes and said the House would build on those efforts.
Business pressures and political retreat
Musk’s dual role in government and business has drawn growing criticism. His company Tesla suffered a 13% drop in deliveries in early 2025 — the worst in its history — and the stock plunged by up to 45%, though it has since partially recovered.
Investor pressure mounted, with some calling for Musk to focus on Tesla. In an April earnings call, he confirmed his government involvement would be “significantly scaled back.”
“The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realised,” Musk told The Washington Post. “It’s an uphill battle trying to improve things in D.C., to say the least.”
He also hinted at cutting back on political spending, telling Bloomberg, “I think I’ve done enough.” Musk had donated nearly $300 million to support Trump and Republican candidates during the 2024 campaign.
Political backlash was swift. Tesla dealerships were vandalised, protests erupted, and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi declared that some acts of sabotage would be treated as “domestic terrorism.”
What’s Next for DOGE and Musk?
Although Musk is out, the Trump administration says DOGE will continue. Departments are expected to integrate some of its recommendations into the 2026 budget process, and Trump is preparing a rescissions package to codify parts of the cuts.
Still, without Musk’s brash leadership, the future of DOGE may be more bureaucratic and less visible. Sources suggest agency heads are preparing to “reassert control” over staffing and funding decisions.
As for Musk, he told an audience in Qatar this week:
“I am committed to Tesla for at least the next five years. I need to focus on building, not cutting.”
His departure closes a turbulent chapter that saw one of the world’s most influential businessmen enter the heart of government, wielding power rarely granted to unelected officials — only to exit amid political infighting, legal challenges, and a growing cloud over his business empire.
Also read: Will Donald Trump and Elon Musk wreck or reform the Pentagon?
Featured photo source: Ariel Zambelich/The Wall Street Journal; PHOTOS: Getty Images (3), Zuma Press
With information from Time Magazine/BBC/Reuters/CBS/CNN
