Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., discusses Elon Musk’s exit from DOGE and the College of Florida’s new president on ‘The Backside Line.’
President Donald Trump lauded Elon Musk in a Friday afternoon press convention because the billionaire businessman stepped again from the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE).
The president stated Musk “has labored tirelessly, serving to lead probably the most sweeping and consequential authorities reform program in generations.”
Musk “willingly accepted the outrageous abuse and slander and lies and assaults” whereas working at DOGE “as a result of he does love our nation,” Trump stated, including that People “owe him an awesome debt of gratitude” and thanking him “for his time as a particular authorities worker.”
Elon Musk exhibits off his t-shirt studying “Tech Help” whereas talking on the first cupboard assembly hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump, on the White Home in Washington, DC, Feb. 26, 2025. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder / Reuters)
The press convention got here as Musk’s tenure as a “particular authorities worker” reached the utmost 130 days a yr that individuals with that designation can work in accordance with federal regulation.
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Trump used an government order on his first day in workplace to formally create DOGE, with the billionaire heading up the endeavor to considerably pare again spending and increase effectivity inside the authorities.
The chief order stated the DOGE group will function till early July 2026.
DOGE has thus far introduced $175 billion in estimated financial savings from a “mixture of asset gross sales, contract/lease cancellations and renegotiations, fraud and improper cost deletion, grant cancellations, curiosity financial savings, programmatic adjustments, regulatory financial savings, and workforce reductions,” in accordance with its web site.
Two days earlier than the press convention, Musk wrote on his social media platform X, that he needed to “thank President @realDonaldTrump for the chance to cut back wasteful spending” as his “scheduled time as a Particular Authorities Worker involves an finish.”
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump greets Elon Musk as he arrives to attend a viewing of the launch of the sixth take a look at flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas (Brandon Bell/Getty Photos / Getty Photos)
Throughout Friday’s press convention, Trump stated he thinks Musk will likely be “going forwards and backwards” fairly than stepping away altogether.
“I’ve a sense. It’s his child, and I feel he’s going to be doing numerous issues,” the president stated. “However Elon’s service to America has been with out comparability in trendy historical past.”
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Trump stated “virtually all” of DOGE’s individuals “are staying,” including that People are “going to see the outcomes coming lengthy into the long run.”
Musk, standing beside the president’s desk within the Oval Workplace, stated the tip of his time as a “particular authorities worker” was “not the tip of DOGE however actually the start.”
“My time as a particular authorities worker essentially needed to finish, it was a restricted time factor,” he stated. “However the DOGE group will solely develop stronger over time, the DOGE affect will solely develop stronger.”
The billionaire expressed confidence that America will see a $1 trillion of “waste and fraud discount” over time.
FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk, Chief Govt Officer of SpaceX and Tesla and proprietor of Twitter, gestures as he attends the Viva Expertise convention devoted to innovation and startups on the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, France, June 16 (REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Picture / Reuters Pictures)
Musk additionally stated he’ll “proceed to be visiting” the White Home and “be a good friend and advisor” to the president.
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In late April, Musk advised Tesla analysts and buyers that he would begin “considerably” dialing again his work at DOGE however stated he thought he would “proceed to spend a day or two per week on authorities issues for so long as the President would love me to take action and so long as it was helpful.”