It came as a surprise to everyone when Elon Musk announced that he will be leaving his position as head of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in May. This is despite the fact that he has only been in charge for a total of 130 days overall.
Bitcoin (DOGE) and Elon Musk have been the most talked about topics in the media ever since Donald Trump, the President of the United States, took office for a second time earlier this year.
According to reports, he has been serving as Trump’s most trusted advisor, and a significant portion of the president’s policy decisions up to this point have been centred on DOGE-related budget cutbacks.
Musk made a commitment to reduce spending by up to two trillion dollars upon the announcement of this new government advisory board. He first set the year 2026 as the timeframe for completing all of the tasks, but he subsequently retracted his commitment to this ambitious objective.
The goalposts appear to have shifted towards a savings objective of one trillion dollars, which Musk hopes he will reach as head of the department before he departs his employment. However, his departure is far earlier than expected, and the goalposts have clearly shifted towards this aim.
Musk disclosed his plan to leave his post in the government in an interview with Bret Baier, an anchor for Fox News, as reported by Newsweek. This turn of events has come as a surprise to many individuals who had previously considered his position in government to be untouchable, despite the fact that the president is alleged to have placed limits on his power.
As the chairman of the Department of Energy and Financial Services (DOGE), Musk has issued massive budget and spending cuts across practically all departments of the government. These cuts include the ‘accidental’ elimination of Ebola preventive efforts and key nuclear weapon officials, which compromises the nation’s security.
As of right now, the official DOGE website reports that savings of 140 billion dollars have been made. However, the accuracy of these data has been called into question by specialists, which means that there is still a significant amount of work to be done if the goal of one trillion dollars is to be accomplished within the next month.
It would appear that the reason that Musk is planning to leave DOGE at such an early stage is connected to his position inside the administration. The formal classification of him is that of a “special government employee,” which means that he is only permitted to work 130 days out of 365 in a year. If he worked every day from the inauguration until May 30th, he would be able to complete his duties.
“Well, I can’t tell you that,” Trump responded when he was asked about whether or not DOGE would continue operations after Musk’s departure. “I think some of them may try and keep the DOGE people with them, but you know, at a certain point it will end.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, who had been Musk’s partner-in-chief, left his position in the department soon before Trump’s inauguration, putting the richest man in the world in sole control of the agency. This is not the first time that departmental reshuffles have challenged the existence of DOGE either. In fact, this is not the first time that departmental reshuffles have happened.
However, it is not yet known whether Musk will continue to maintain a tight relationship with President Trump and a powerful voice within the government. Furthermore, only time will tell what role the billionaire will play when he leaves the agency that was clearly designed with him in mind.