Elon Musk announced Wednesday night that his time as a “special government employee” with the Trump administration is winding down. But that doesn’t mean he’s leaving President Trump’s circle.
“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,” Musk wrote on X. He added that his Department of Government Efficiency’s “mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
Musk, a billionaire entrepreneur, was set to begin his offboarding process with the White House on Wednesday night, according to an administration official. But that doesn’t mean his relationship with the president or time at the White House are over.
“Musk left on good terms and is still friends with the president,” a senior administration official told CBS News. “This isn’t a separation, but just a return to the private sector for Musk. He will continue to be a friend to the president, and we can characterize that as an ‘adviser.'”
Musk is not likely to participate in Cabinet meetings, but potentially could in the future, the official said. Steve Davis, a top Musk lieutenant at DOGE, is also leaving the White House.
Musk’s DOGE team has upturned the government through employee cuts at nearly every federal agency and the termination of billions of dollars of government contracts. Musk has said the effort has cut around $160 billion in spending. However, some of the spending cuts cited by DOGE have contained errors, and one report estimates the cuts could cost the government $135 billion due to lost productivity and the cost of putting staff on leave and re-hiring some workers.
The White House said in February that Musk is a “special government employee,” or SGE. The designation allowed him to work for the executive branch, subject to different ethics rules than federal employees.
But SGEs are limited to working 130 days in a 365-day period. Friday, May 30, would mark 130 days since Mr. Trump was inaugurated for his second term and when Musk’s work at DOGE began.
Musk’s announced departure comes a day after a “CBS Sunday Morning” interview where he criticized the budget bill passed by House Republicans last week. The bill has been backed heavily by Mr. Trump, who dubbed it the “big, beautiful bill.”
“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 told “CBS Sunday Morning” correspondent David Pogue in a broadcast exclusive interview.
In an April earnings call with Musk’s car company Tesla, he told investors his time at DOGE would “drop significantly” in May so he could focus on his companies. Musk suggested he would spend one to two days a week on government work, “as long as the president would like me to do so.” Some Tesla investors pushed Musk to dial back his involvement in the Trump administration, worrying his attention was divided and the carmaker’s brand was at risk.
White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said in a Fox Business interview on Wednesday that the Trump administration will make some of DOGE’s cuts permanent through a bill in Congress known as a rescission package, which is a way for Congress to cancel funds it previously appropriated but that the federal government has not yet spent. Vought said that cuts to foreign aid and the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as funds to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, would be included first.
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