Elon Musk has left the government role as President Donald Trump’s top advisor after leading efforts to reduce and overhaul federal bureaucracy.
His departure, announced Wednesday evening, marks the end of a turbulent chapter that includes thousands of layoffs, government organs and rifts of lawsuits. Despite the upheaval, the billionaire entrepreneur struggled in the unfamiliar environment of Washington, accomplishing far less than he wanted.
He dramatically reduced his targets to cut spending ($2 trillion to $1 trillion to $150 billion). Sometimes he clashed with other top members of the Trump administration. The Trump administration struggled with the newcomers’ efforts to rebuild their divisions and faced a fierce political blow due to his efforts.
The role of masks working for Trump is always intended to be temporary, and he recently made its notice to turn his attention to running businesses such as electric car maker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX.
However, when Musk retreats from his position at the forefront of government efficiency known as Doge, he suddenly reveals that he is leaving on a post on X, a social media website.
“As the time scheduled for special government officials is coming to an end, I would like to thank President @RealdonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasted spending,” he wrote. “The @Doge mission will be strengthened over time as it will become a government-wide lifestyle.”
White House officials who requested anonymity to talk about the change confirmed the departure of the mask.
Musk announced his decision the day after CBS released some of the interview. He criticized Trump’s central legislative agenda by saying he was “disappointed” by what the president calls his “big beautiful bill.”
The law combines tax cuts with increased immigration enforcement. Musk described it as a “large spending bill” that increased the federal deficit and “damaged work.”
“I think the bill will grow, or maybe it would be beautiful,” Musk said. “But I don’t know if it’s both.”
Speaking in the oval office on Wednesday, Trump defended his agenda by talking about sensitive politics involved in legislative negotiations.
“I’m not happy with any particular aspect of it, but I’m excited about the other aspects of it,” he said.
Trump also suggested that more changes could be made.
“We’re going to see what happens,” he said. “There’s a way to go.”
Republicans have recently pushed the measure through the House of Representatives and are debating it in the Senate.
Musk concerns are shared by Republican lawmakers. “I sympathize with Elon’s disappointment,” said Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson.
Speaking at an event at the Milwaukee Press Club on Wednesday, Johnson added, “I’m quite confident,” that there’s enough opposition to slow this process until our leadership, as president, becomes serious. He said there was no pressure Trump could put on him to change his position.
Speaker Mike Johnson asked the senators to make as few changes as possible to Congress, saying House Republicans have reached a “very sensitive balance” with major changes. As the Senate changes the bill, narrowly divided houses will have to vote again in the final passage.
On Wednesday, Johnson thanked Musk for his work and promised to pursue further future spending cuts, saying “the home is ready to act on Doge’s discoveries.”
The White House is sending proposed retirement, a mechanism used to cancel previously approved spending, to Capitol Hill to solidify some of the doge reductions. A spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget said the package would include $1.1 billion and $8.3 billion in foreign aid from public broadcasters funding NPR and PBS.
Musk appeared to have been disciplined at times by his experience working for the government.
“The situation in federal bureaucracy is much worse than I noticed,” he told the Washington Post. “I thought there was a problem, but to say the least, I’m sure it’s a tough fight to improve things in DC.”
He recently said he would reduce his political spending because “I think I did enough.”
The masks were previously energised by the opportunity to rebuild Washington. After placing at least $250 million on Trump’s candidacy, he put on a campaign hat at the White House and held his own campaign rally, speaking about excess spending as an existential crisis. He often tended to be enthusiastic about praise Trump.
“The more I know President Trump, the more I like that guy,” Musk said in February. “Frankly, I love him.”
Trump paid off his favor and described Musk as “a truly amazing American.” When Tesla faced a decline in sales, he transformed his White House driveway into a makeshift showroom to explain his support.
It is unclear what Musk’s comments about the bill will affect legislative debate, especially given the deviation from the administration. During the transition period, when his influence rose, he helped oppose spending measures as the country stood on the brink of federal shutdowns.
His latest criticism could involve Republicans who wanted to cut their spending even greater. Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee reposted a Fox news story about Musk’s interview and added his own views on his own measures, saying he has “still time to fix it.”
“The Senate version will be more aggressive,” Lee said. “It has to do that, and it has to be, or it won’t go through.”
Only two people, Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massey of Kentucky, voted against the bill last week when the House took action.
Davidson noted Musk’s comments on social media.
“Hopefully the Senate will succeed in a big, beautiful bill that the House missed out on that moment,” he wrote. “Don’t want anyone else to cut the deficit one day. Know that this council took place.”
Congress’s Budget Office said in a preliminary estimate that tax provisions will slightly reduce $1 trillion over the same period, with changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other services, while tax provisions will increase the federal deficit by $3.8 trillion over the decade.
House Republican leaders say increased economic growth would allow the bill to neutralize or reduce deficits, but outside watchdogs are skeptical. The Responsible Federal Budget Committee estimates the bill will add $3 trillion, including interest, to its debt over the next decade.
Associated Press authors Scott Bauer, Kevin Freaking and Washington’s Lisa Mascaro and Zeke Miller contributed to the report.
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