Will Elon Musk Soon Step Down From DOGE Role? White House Reacts
President Trump and Elon Musk have decided that Musk will soon step back from his government role. Musk's term as a special government employee is set to end by May.
The White House said on Wednesday that tech billionaire Elon Musk will stay on his government role to complete his mission to slash government spending and downsize the federal workforce, dismissing media reports that he will leave the role soon.
Earlier it was reported that US President Donald Trump has told members of his Cabinet and other close contacts that Musk will soon step back from his government role, as per Politico citing three people close to Trump.
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Trump has tasked the Tesla and SpaceX CEO with leading efforts through the Department of Government Efficiency to cut government funding and reshape the federal bureaucracy.
“Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Politico had reported that both Trump and Musk decided in recent days that Musk will soon return to his businesses, but gave no specific date.
Shares of some companies, including government contracting companies, rose following the report. Shares of Musk’s Tesla, which were down 2% in early trading after a sharper-than-expected fall in first-quarter deliveries, reversed course and were up 3%.
Trump and Musk have both recently indicated that Musk would move on but have not said when.
Asked if he wanted Musk to stay longer than his 130-day term, Trump told reporters on Monday: “I think he’s amazing, but I also think he’s got a big company to run. At some point, he’s going to be going back. He wants to."
Based on a 130-day term, Musk’s time as a special government employee would be set to end as soon as the end of May. He told Fox News last week that he was confident he would finish most of the work to cut $1 trillion in federal spending.
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