US President Donald Trump's billionaire ally, Elon Musk, on Wednesday announced he was leaving his position within the US government leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), intended to reduce federal spending. Musk's departure follows his recent public disapproval of the Trump administration's mega tax and spending bill, which the tycoon claimed "increases the budget deficit" and "undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing."
"As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," Musk wrote on his social media platform X.
"The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government," he added.
The South African-born tech tycoon has been scaling back on his work leading DOGE over the past month, following major losses for his electric car company, Tesla. But major disagreements between Musk and Trump emerged when the billionaire publicly criticised the President's signature "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act" -- which passed the US House last week and now moves to the Senate. The bill offers sprawling tax relief and spending cuts and is the centrepiece of his domestic agenda.
The tech mogul -- who had been a constant presence at Trump's side since he took office in January-- said in a interview with CBS News that he was " disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing."
Timeline Of Donald Trump And Elon Musk's Relationship
March 6, 2004: Musk announced that he won't donate to any candidate in the 2024 US presidential election.
July 13, 2024: Musk officially endorsed Trump for President minutes after he came under fire in an attempted assassination at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Musk also ended up donating more than a quarter of a billion dollars to Trump's reelection bid.
August 12, 2004: The tycoon hosted the then Republican candidate Trump on X for a "conversation" that turned into an extension of a campaign speech. During the meeting, Musk suggested that Trump should set up a commission focused on "government efficiency" and appoint him to it.
August 19, 2024: In a post on his X (formerly Twitter), Musk said, "I am willing to serve."
September 3, 2024: Trump announced that if he wins the November 5 election, he would establish a government efficiency commission, which would be led by Musk.
October 5, 2024: Musk, for the first time since his endorsement, joined Trump onstage at a rally at the site of his assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, wearing a black "Make America Great Again" cap. At the rally, he said, "As you can see, I'm not just MAGA - I'm dark MAGA."
October 19, 2024: Musk said he would give away $1 million a day to voters in swing states who signed his petition to support free speech and the right to bear arms in the US.
November 5, 2024: Musk spends election night at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida to witness Republicans winning the 2024 presidential election.
November 12, 2024: Trump announces Musk and Republican presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the newly established advisory group with the mandate to slash government spending and streamline bureaucracy.
November 16, 2024: Musk, in a post on X, suggested that Howard Lutnick would enact change as Treasury secretary, contrasting him with Scott Bessent, a potential Trump pick for the role.
November 16, 2024: Ignoring Musk's suggestion, Trump instead picked Lutnick as the Commerce secretary. Same day, Trump witnessed SpaceX's Starship launch alongside Musk in Texas.
January 20, 2025: Musk attends Trump's inauguration in Washington, DC. He also delivered a speech at one of the events, where he courted controversy for a one-armed salute that some said appeared to resemble a Nazi-style gesture.
February 11, 2025: Musk went to the Oval Office with his young son, X, to mark Trump signing an executive order seeking to significantly reduce the size of the government through "large-scale reductions" in the federal workforce.
February 20, 2025: Musk attended the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) wielding a blinged-out chainsaw gifted to him by Argentina's president. He used the prop to symbolise his role leading DOGE and "slashing" government spending.
March 4, 2025: Trump gives a shout-out to Musk's work at DOGE during his joint address to Congress. "He's working very hard," the president said in his speech.
May 1, 2025: While Musk emerged as a hero for Trump's supporters, his image of wielding so much power sparked a backlash, which mostly targeted Tesla. In his most extensive remarks, Musk said stepping back from his government role to refocus on Tesla and his other companies.
May 27, 2025: Musk criticised Trump's signature "One Big Beautiful Bill Act", saying he is "disappointed" in the legislation as it "increases the budget deficit" and "undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing."
He complained that DOGE had become a "whipping boy" for dissatisfaction with the administration. "A bill can be big, or it can be beautiful. But I don't know if it can be both. My personal opinion," Musk said in the interview, which will be aired in full on Sunday.
The White House sought to play down any differences over US government spending, without directly naming Musk. "The Big Beautiful Bill is NOT an annual budget bill," Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said on Musk's social network, X, after the tech titan's comments aired.
All DOGE cuts would have to be carried out through a separate bill targeting the federal bureaucracy, according to US Senate rules, Miller added.
