Elon Musk Ends Government Role, Faces Lawsuit While Trump Says He’s ‘Not Really Leaving’

Elon Musk Ends Government Role, Faces Lawsuit While Trump Says He’s ‘Not Really Leaving’

Musk had been a significant figure in the administration, serving as the largest donor to Trump’s 2024 election campaign and remaining close to the President after he assumed office.

RMN News Report

New Delhi / Washington D.C. – Space and technology billionaire Elon Musk has announced the end of his term as the chief of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on May 29, 2025. Musk thanked the US President for the “opportunity to reduce wasteful spending” and stated that the DOGE mission is expected to strengthen over time to become a “way of life” in the government. His departure comes 130 days after President Trump returned to office, the maximum allowable for his status as a “special government employee”.

Musk had been a significant figure in the administration, serving as the largest donor to Trump’s 2024 election campaign and remaining close to the President after he assumed office. President Trump had previously praised Musk, calling him “a star is born” in his victory speech. DOGE, an advisory body rather than a formal government department, has the stated aim of slashing government spending, saving taxpayer money, and reducing the US national debt.

Upon taking the helm of DOGE, Musk reportedly sought “super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries” willing to work intense hours on cost-cutting tasks. During his tenure, tens of thousands of people were removed from government payrolls, and several departments were downsized or shut down. However, this period also saw Musk clash with other senior Trump officials. By late April, Musk reportedly began to pull back, mentioning in interviews that DOGE had become a “whipping boy” for dissatisfaction with the administration and admitting he did not achieve all his goals with the department.

According to DOGE’s website, it had saved the US government a total of $175 billion as of May 29. A BBC analysis conducted in late April, however, found that only $61.5 billion of that amount was itemized, with evidence available for about $32.5 billion of the total claimed savings.

Musk’s departure follows his first public criticism of President Trump the day prior, where he suggested the President’s “big, beautiful” spending bill could increase the budget deficit and undermine the work of the DOGE team. Musk commented on the bill, saying, “A bill can be big, or it can be beautiful. But I don’t know if it can be both. My personal opinion”. In an earlier interview with CBS, Musk said he was “disappointed” in the bill, which includes multi-trillion dollar tax breaks and a pledge to increase defense spending.

Despite his official departure, President Trump indicated that Musk’s involvement would continue. In a news conference in the Oval Office, Trump said Musk is “not really leaving” and will continue to be “back and forth” to the White House, adding, “I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things”.

Trump referred to DOGE as Musk’s “baby” and praised him for “tirelessly helping lead the most sweeping and consequential government reform programme in generations”, asserting that the “mindsets” of federal officials have changed as a result of DOGE’s work to detect fraud and “slash waste”. Musk, for his part, insisted that DOGE will continue to “relentlessly” seek $1 trillion in reductions. While Musk had previously criticized the spending bill, he did not comment on it during the Oval Office meeting, though Trump delivered a lengthy defense of the legislation.

Adding to the challenges surrounding his exit, a US District judge has ruled that Musk must face a lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges he wielded illegal power as the head of DOGE. This is one of several cases filed against Musk and DOGE, seeking to block their access to agency systems and records that contain extensive amounts of Americans’ financial and personal information.