South Africa-born billionaire Elon Musk announced overnight on Thursday he has left his role as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump after some five months at the helm of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
In a post on his platform X, Musk thanked the US president for the chance to lead DOGE, an initiative Trump authorised through an executive order on his first day in office.
"As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump 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," he added.
Musk announced his decision one day after CBS released part of an interview in which he criticised Trump’s legislative agenda by saying he was “disappointed” by what the president calls his “Big Beautiful Bill.”
The legislation includes a mix of tax cuts and enhanced immigration enforcement. Musk described it as a “massive spending bill” that increases the federal deficit and “undermines the work” of his Department of Government Efficiency, known as 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.”
Slashing spending cuts and clashing with other Trump allies
Musk's departure from DOGE marks the end of a chapter that included thousands of layoffs, dismantling of government agencies and reams of litigation.
The billionaire entrepreneur struggled in the unfamiliar environment of Washington, accomplishing far less than he had originally hoped to.
He dramatically reduced his government spending cut targets from $2 trillion (€1.78 trillion), then to $1 trillion (€889 million), before slashing it further to $150 billion (€133 billion). He’s also frequently expressed frustration about the mounting resistance to DOGE’s operations.
However, he clashed with other top members of Trump's administration, who chafed at the newcomer's efforts to reshape their departments, and he faced fierce political blowback for his efforts.
Musk's role working for Trump was always intended to be temporary, and he had recently signalled that he would be shifting his attention back to running his businesses, such as the electric automaker Tesla, rocket company SpaceX, and social media platform, X.
But administration officials were often vague about when Musk would step back from his position at DOGE.
Musk had previously been energised by the opportunity to reshape Washington. After putting at least $250 million (€222 million) behind Trump's candidacy.
He often wore Trump’s MAGA (Make America Great Again) hats in the White House, held his own campaign rallies, and was always generous in his praise of the US president.
“The more I’ve gotten to know President Trump, the more I like the guy,” Musk said in February. “Frankly, I love him.”
But the Washington bureaucracy appears to have been wearing his patience thin, as Musk had expressed to US media outlets the struggles of actually bringing about change.
“The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realised,” said Musk. “I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in DC, to say the least.”
Musk announced last week that he plans to take a step back from politics, saying he will spend significantly less money backing candidates in the future.
