Washington: Tech billionaire Elon Musk announced via social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that he is stepping down as the head of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a role he held under President Donald Trump’s second administration.
Musk, who was appointed as a "special government employee" by Trump, thanked the president for entrusting him with the leadership of DOGE, an initiative aimed at reducing government waste and streamlining federal operations. Under the legal terms of this honorary appointment, Musk was permitted to work up to 130 days per year. His tenure, calculated from the start of Trump’s return to office, officially ends in late May.
“As my term as a special government employee comes to an end, I want to thank President Trump for the opportunity to help reduce government waste,” Musk posted on X. He added that he hopes DOGE’s mission will continue to strengthen and evolve into a new standard for how the government operates.
The Department of Government Efficiency—an unusual entity launched by Trump as part of a broader austerity campaign—tasked Musk with identifying and eliminating unnecessary government spending. Initially, Musk had pledged to slash at least $2 trillion from the federal budget, a target he later revised down to $150 billion.
Though Musk’s departure was expected, it comes at a politically charged moment. In a recent interview with CBS News, Musk voiced his disappointment over President Trump’s new budget bill, which proposes trillions of dollars in tax cuts and increases to military spending. Musk warned that the bill could worsen the federal deficit and undermine the work done by DOGE.
According to estimates, the DOGE initiative led to significant downsizing within the federal workforce. Out of 2.3 million civilian employees, approximately 260,000 either resigned or accepted early retirement offers as part of the cost-cutting campaign.
While Musk’s official role in government was always temporary, his high-profile involvement has left a lasting imprint on Trump’s second-term economic agenda.
