Elon Musk Steps Down From Government Role as Head of DOGE, Concludes 130-Day Term

Elon Musk is officially stepping down from his role as the public face of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), concluding his temporary assignment as a special government employee, Fox News reports.

Musk announced the transition Wednesday night in a post on X, thanking President Donald Trump for the opportunity to help streamline the federal government and eliminate waste.

“The ⁦‪@DOGE‬⁩ mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government,” Musk wrote.

The White House confirmed that Musk’s offboarding began Wednesday evening.

Musk’s tenure began on Inauguration Day, January 20, when Trump signed an executive order creating DOGE — a temporary agency tasked with slashing government waste, fraud, and inefficiency. Since then, DOGE has targeted spending across multiple federal departments.

Though Musk was widely seen as the face of the initiative, he was employed as a “special government employee,” a designation created by Congress in 1962 that allows individuals to serve the federal government in temporary roles for up to 130 days within a 365-day period. Musk’s time in the role was scheduled to end on May 30.

“I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that timeframe,” Musk said during an April interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier.

The White House confirmed that while Musk’s full-time involvement will end, he may continue to advise the administration part-time. “He’ll continue to spend a day or two per week on government matters as long as the president would like him to do so and as long as it is useful,” Musk said during a Tesla earnings call in April.

President Trump praised Musk’s contributions in a March interview, saying:

“He’s a very talented guy. You know, I love very smart people. He’s very smart. And he’s done a good job.”

DOGE is expected to continue operating until July 4, 2026, per the original executive order. However, Musk’s exit marks a major milestone for the agency, which many critics had initially doubted.

Despite his prominent role, Musk never held formal authority within the U.S. government and did not report to DOGE leadership. According to a March court filing, Amy Gleason, the acting administrator of DOGE, clarified that Musk was not part of the U.S. DOGE Service chain of command.

“Elon Musk does not work at USDS. I do not report to him, and he does not report to me,” she wrote. “To my knowledge, he is a Senior Advisor to the White House.”

Gleason previously served with the U.S. Digital Service under the Obama administration before being tapped by Trump to lead the rebranded DOGE.

Musk’s temporary government role was not without controversy. Democrats and activist groups staged protests against Musk and his companies, criticizing his close ties to Trump. Some even attempted to impact Tesla stock performance as a form of opposition.

Throughout the 2024 election cycle, Musk increasingly aligned himself with Trump. After an assassination attempt on the former president in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, Musk publicly endorsed Trump.

“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk posted, accompanying the message with video of Trump raising a fist after the attack.

Trump later thanked Musk during his address to a joint session of Congress in March, saying:

“He didn’t need this. Thank you very much. We appreciate it. Everybody here, even this side, appreciates it, I believe. They just don’t want to admit that.”