Musk could be headed for a Washington exit after turbulent times at
Trump's DOGE
[April 03, 2025]
By CHRIS MEGERIAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — DOGE’s days appear to be numbered.
Elon Musk recently suggested that he will be done with his work in the
near future. President Donald Trump told reporters this week that “at
some point, he’s going to be going back” to running his companies. As
far as the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump said “it will
end.”
All of that talk was before Musk faced a setback Tuesday in Wisconsin,
where voters rejected his choice for a state Supreme Court candidate
despite more than $21 million in personal donations and his campaign
appearance over the weekend. There are more problems for the billionaire
entrepreneur at Tesla, his electric automaker, which saw a 13% drop in
sales in the first three months of the year.
The White House has not disclosed any clear timeline for closing down
DOGE, and the government cost-cutting organization was never supposed to
become a permanent fixture in Washington. But it could be reaching a
conclusion faster than anticipated. DOGE was originally intended to
operate until July 4, 2026.
Now there are signs that it already is winding down. DOGE employees have
been shifted to various federal agencies, which are supposed to take the
lead on cutting costs. Government-wide layoffs are underway to
accomplish some of the goals laid out by Musk and Trump.
“We think probably over the next two or three months, we’ll be pretty
much satisfied with the people that are working hard and want to be
members of the administration,” Trump said last week.
The potential end of DOGE does not mean Trump will stop shaking up
Washington. But it appears the administration’s efforts will be entering
a new phase that is less focused on Musk, whose chain saw-wielding work
as a presidential adviser made him a political lightning rod.
DOGE was initially envisioned as an independent advisory panel, with
Musk sharing leadership with Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur.
Ramaswamy dropped out and is running for Ohio governor, and DOGE became
part of the government. It was stocked with Musk's allies, who were
dispatched throughout the bureaucracy to cancel contracts, access
sensitive data and push for cuts.
Musk presumably has a ticking clock on his tenure. He was hired as a
special government employee, which means he can only work 130 days in a
365-day time period.
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Elon Musk, left, shakes hands with President Donald Trump at the
finals for the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22,
2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
“I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to
reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame,”
Musk told Bret Baier of Fox News on March 27. So far DOGE is well
short of that target, according to its own calculations, which have
been criticized as inflated and inaccurate.
Musk did not commit to leaving the administration by any particular
date, and it is unclear how the administration is tracking Musk’s
time. On May 30, it will be 130 days since Trump’s inauguration on
Jan. 20.
Trump told reporters on Monday in the Oval Office that “I’d keep him
as long as I could keep him” and “he’s a very talented guy.”
The Republican president was known for explosive breakups with top
advisers during his first term, but anyone hoping for such a split
with Musk has been disappointed.
“I think he’s amazing, but I also think he’s got a big company to
run,” Trump said. “And so, at some point, he’s going to be going
back.”
Asked if DOGE would continue without Musk, Trump demurred. He said
Cabinet officials have worked closely with Musk and may keep some of
the DOGE people at their agencies.
“But at a certain point I think it will end,” Trump said.
Musk's poll numbers lag behind Trump's, which Democrats believe they
were able to use to their advantage in Wisconsin.
Susan Crawford defeated Brad Schimel, who Musk supported, and
ensured the state Supreme Court's liberal majority.
In the closing days of that campaign, Musk described the race as
“important for the future of civilization.” He struck a different
tone afterward.
“I expected to lose, but there is value to losing a piece for a
positional gain,” Musk wrote on X at 3:13 a.m.
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