‘This is not the end of DOGE, but really the beginning,’ Musk said.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump held a press conference in the Oval Office on May 30 alongside Elon Musk to mark the end of the billionaire entrepreneur’s tenure as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Trump thanked Musk, describing his work as “the most sweeping and consequential government reform program” and said he “has changed the mindset of a lot of people.”
However, despite his term as special government employee ending on Friday, Musk said his work with DOGE and the federal government will continue.
“This is not the end of DOGE, but really the beginning,” Musk said.
Trump confirmed that Musk will continue advising him during his second term in the White House.
“Elon is really not leaving. He’s going to be back and forth,” Trump said. “I have a feeling—it’s his baby, and I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things.”
Musk compared DOGE to Buddhism.
“It’s like a way of life. So it is permeating throughout the government, and I’m confident that over time, we will see a trillion dollars of savings and reduction in a trillion dollars of waste and fraud reduction.”
The tech CEO said he hopes to continue working with Trump in the future.
“I look forward to continuing to be a friend and adviser to the president,” Musk said.
Musk acknowledged the heat he faced for his work with the Trump administration, saying, “What we thought was happening was that if there were any cuts anywhere, then people would assume that was done by DOGE. And so we became … essentially the DOGE bogeyman, where any cut anywhere would be ascribed to DOGE.”
Trump appointed Musk to lead DOGE upon its creation on Jan. 20, when the president signed an executive order to establish the advisory commission to root out waste in the federal government. Since then, DOGE has advocated for funding cuts and layoffs at a number of federal agencies, and Musk has faced scrutiny from Democrats and some Republicans for his work leading the group.
Trump’s order designated Musk as a “special government employee,” a position limited to a term of 130 days before the contract expires. That meant Musk’s time in the federal government would come to an end on Friday.
By Emel Akan and Jacob Burg
