Elon Musk is departing his job serving as an adviser to President Donald Trump after leading the effort to reduce government spending and modernize the U.S. federal bureaucracy.

The announcement comes as no surprise, given Musk's clear past statements that his role with the Department of Government Efficiency was temporary — including at the start of May.

“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 in a post on X, the social media platform he purchased in April 2022.

Musk's departure follows his criticism of a spending bill backed by President Trump and passed by House Republicans with a single-vote margin. 

“I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful,” Musk said, referring to Trump's branding of the legislation as a “big beautiful bill.” The tech mogul said he was uncertain “if it could be both,” describing it as a “massive spending bill” in an interview with CBS.

The bill, which still needs to pass the Senate, is expected to increase the country's deficit by $3.8 trillion by 2034, according to data from the Congressional Budget Office cited by CBS.

A White House fact sheet contends the bill cuts spending and fuels growth.

The increased deficit was a “lie” based on a Congressional Budget Office “accounting gimmick,” said Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. 

“Income tax rates from the 2017 tax cut are set to expire in September. They were always planned to be permanent,” he said.

“CBO says maintaining current rates adds to the deficit, but by definition leaving these income tax rates unchanged cannot add one penny to the deficit. The bill’s spending cuts reduce the deficit against the current law baseline, which is the only correct baseline to use.”

Special government employees are individuals who provide an important, but limited, service to the U.S. government.

Those serving in the role abide by a smaller set of conflict-of-interest rules than regular government employees and are guided by a restricted mandate that only being permits working 130 days out of a 365-day period.

It is expected Musk will return much of his attention to his businesses, like Tesla and SpaceX.

When asked who will take charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk said “DOGE is a way of life ... like Buddhism.”

Please donate to support our independent journalism in the US

From exposing the untold stories of the Lahaina wildfires and East Palestine train explosion to covering the humanitarian crisis at the Texas border, we bring you the truth the mainstream media ignores. Your donation powers our uncensored reporting and ensures we can keep telling the other side of the story. Please donate today to help us keep fighting for the truth! (Thanks.)

Optional email code

Canadian Dollars U.S. Dollars Australian Dollars British Pounds

Amount

$25

$50

$75

$100

$250

$500

$1,000

$2,500

Other

$

One-time

Monthly

DONATE