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President Donald Trump on Friday will host a press event to celebrate Elon Musk as the Tesla CEO concludes his official government service after four turbulent months leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk’s scheduled departure comes at a precarious moment, both for DOGE and for his relationship with the president.
Multiple top staffers at DOGE have either recently left or are on their way out of the federal workforce-slashing group. They include Steve Davis, the president of Musk’s Boring Company, and DOGE spokeswoman Katie Miller, White House officials told NBC News. Attorney James Burnham is also reportedly leaving the group.
Musk worked for Trump temporarily as a powerful and highly visible “special government employee” after spending over $250 million helping to get the president elected.
Trump has regularly praised Musk throughout his tenure, up to and including his announcement of Friday’s Oval Office “press conference.”
“This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way,” Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social, adding, “Elon is terrific!”
But Musk, the world’s richest man, has publicly broken with Trump and clashed with Cabinet members on multiple occasions.
He expressed support for lower tariffs, undermining Trump’s “tariff man” persona. He also slammed White House trade advisor Peter Navarro as “truly a moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks.”
This week, Musk broke with Trump over the “one big, beautiful bill” that the president is pushing congressional Republicans to approve.
Musk told CBS’ “Sunday Morning” that he was “disappointed” that the bill would increase the federal budget deficit, saying it “undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.”
The “Department of Government Efficiency,” which Musk once predicted would cut trillions of dollars in government spending, has come nowhere close to that level, according to its own numbers, which also have come under question.
But Musk said DOGE isn’t done yet.
“The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government,” Musk wrote Wednesday in an X post thanking Trump.
Musk’s tenure in politics also bruised his public image and soured consumers’ views of Tesla, whose cars and showrooms became a target for arsonists and vandals.
In his final weeks in government, Musk, once omnipresent in Trump’s orbit, became far less visible, Politico reported.
Musk recently signaled he plans to back away from politics, including by pulling back on future campaign contributions, and focus more on his many businesses.
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.
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