Overview

• Musk concluded his role as a special government employee leading the Department of Government Efficiency on May 29, thanking Trump for the chance to cut federal waste.
• Under Musk’s brief tenure, DOGE slashed nearly 260,000 civilian jobs and reported about $175 billion in savings, though independent analyses have questioned the accuracy of that tally.
• In late May, Musk publicly lambasted Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” arguing its tax and spending measures would inflate the deficit and derail DOGE’s cost-cutting mission.
• At a May 30 Oval Office press conference, Trump lauded Musk’s reforms and announced the billionaire will continue advising informally despite leaving his formal post.
• Several senior DOGE staffers are departing following Musk’s exit, casting doubt on the initiative’s continuity and prompting questions about its next leadership.