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Elon Musk is stepping away from his advisory role in the Trump administration after leading a high-profile effort to reform the federal government.
In a post on X, the social media platform he owns, Musk announced the end of his tenure as a Special Government Employee.
“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.
“The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government,” he continued.
The announcement came shortly after Musk publicly criticized the administration’s flagship legislative proposal, calling it a “massive spending bill” that increases the federal deficit and contradicts the goals of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Musk helped lead.
Speaking with CBS, Musk expressed disappointment with the bill, which includes tax reductions and stricter immigration enforcement. “I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful,” he said. “But I don’t know if it could be both.”
President Trump defended the legislation Wednesday, acknowledging its complexities. “I’m not happy about certain aspects of it, but I’m thrilled by other aspects of it,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “We’re going to see what happens. It’s got a way to go.”
Musk has served as a close ally of Trump after announcing his support following an assassination attempt against the president last summer. He became one of Trump’s biggest donors and campaigned for him during the closing weeks of the 2024 presidential election.
The SpaceX leader and Tesla CEO led the Department of Government Efficiency, formed initially with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, to help reduce wasteful government spending.
In a Feb. 11 executive order, Trump assigned DOGE the power to implement a workforce optimization initiative as part of eliminating government waste. The stated goal is, “To restore accountability to the American public, this order commences a critical transformation of the Federal bureaucracy. By eliminating waste, bloat, and insularity, my Administration will empower American families, workers, taxpayers, and our system of Government itself.”