All terrible things must come to an end, and that’s why billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk is officially leaving the Trump administration after months of controversies and infighting. Musk’s ultimate goal was to screw up several federal agencies by cutting government jobs with a buzzsaw, but luckily for the institutions our country needs to run properly, Musk mostly failed.
On May 28, a White House spokesperson said his “off-boarding will begin tonight,” confirming that Musk was OUT. Earlier this week, he took to social media to thank President Trump as his time as a special government employee with his Department of Government Efficiency came to a close.
IÂ don’t think many people will be sad to see him go. From Reuters:
His departure was quick and unceremonious. He did not have a formal conversation with Trump before announcing his exit, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, who added that his departure was decided “at a senior staff level.”
While the precise circumstances of his exit were not immediately clear, he leaves a day after criticizing Trump’s marquee tax bill, calling it too expensive and a measure that would undermine his work with the U.S. DOGE Service.
Some senior White House officials, including Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, were particularly irked by those comments, and the White House was forced to call Republican senators to reiterate Trump’s support for the package, a source familiar with the matter said.
While Musk remains close to the president, his exit comes after a gradual, but steady slide in standing.
While campaigning and giving hundreds of millions of dollars to Trump’s efforts, Musk said DOGE would be able to cut at least $2 trillion in federal spending. I’m sure none of you will be shocked to learn that Musk’s lofty promise fell incredibly short. DOGE says its current efforts have saved just $175 billion, and you should really take that number with a massive grain of salt.
Things became frosty for Musk very soon after the President took office on January 20, as Reuters explains:
[S]ome cabinet members who initially embraced Musk’s outsider energy grew wary of his tactics, sources said. Over time, they grew more confident pushing back against his job cuts, encouraged by Trump’s reminder in early March that staffing decisions rested with department secretaries, not with Musk.Â
Musk clashed with three of Trump’s most senior cabinet members – Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He called Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro a “moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks.” Navarro dismissed the insults, saying, “I’ve been called worse.”
At the same time, Musk began to hint that his time in government would come to a close, while expressing frustration at times that he could not more aggressively cut spending.
In a conference call last month, Musk said he was going to significantly scale back his government work to concentrate on his various businesses that desperately need his attention. He told journalists federal bureaucracy is “much worse than I realized” earlier this week.
As for what happens to DOGE, well, who the hell knows? I suppose it could go on trying to carry out Musk’s vision, but without him there, who knows how effective it will be. I mean, it was barely effective with him there 24/7. Fingers crossed it collapses under the weight of its own stupidity.Â
