President Donald Trump held a special press conference on Friday, bidding farewell to SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose time as an advisor and leader of DOGE has come to a close.
“He’s my friend and he’s done a fantastic job, he didn’t need this,” Trump said.
The president praised Musk as “one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced,” noting that Musk had “stepped forward to put his great talents into the service of our nation – and we appreciate it.”
Musk, Trump said, “has worked tirelessly [to] lead the most sweeping and consequential” government reform in history, adding that the waste, fraud, and abuse uncovered by DOGE had been truly “unbelievable.”
Trump also praised Musk for installing very bright, young intellectual minds in DOGE with an “engineering mindset” who are able to quickly track down fraud and abuse.
“Countless wasteful and unnecessary contracts have been terminated,” Trump added. “…We’re going through procedures, we’re going through courts.”
He reminded the press of the many alleged frauds uncovered by DOGE, such as over $1 billion at the Department of Education for DEI contracts, $59 million for hotel rooms for illegal aliens in New York, and $42 million for social and behavioral change in Uganda, he said.
“We are totally committed to making the DOGE cuts permanent,” Trump vowed.
President Trump also hinted that Musk, while leaving his central role at DOGE, would likely be back soon. “[DOGE is] his baby,” Trump remarked.
He continued, “Elon’s service to America has been without comparison in modern history.”
Trump also pointed out that Musk had “willingly accepted the outrageous abuse and slander and lies and attacks because he loves our country.”
Trump concluded, “Americans owe him a great debt of gratitude.”
According to the president, most of the young “geniuses” Musk brought to DOGE will be staying with the administration, despite Musk’s departure.
In his parting remarks, Musk added his thoughts, stating, “This is not the end of DOGE, but really the beginning.”
The innovator added that, “I’m confident that, over time, we will see a trillion dollars of savings” through cutting waste and fraud.
Musk said he would continue to be a “friend and advisor to the president” and said he looked forward to returning to the Oval Office.
