Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s time as the face of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has come to an end following the expiration of his time as a special government employee.
Since January, Musk has been heading up DOGE, which was tasked with cutting $2 trillion from the federal government’s budget through efforts to slash spending, government programs and the federal workforce.
But how will the Trump administration look at DOGE now that Musk is gone?
So far, there are no signs that DOGE is being dismantled or that its efforts will be reversed, and former DOGE employees are infiltrating other areas of the Trump administration. Plus, President Donald Trump signaled that Musk could return in some capacity, although he did not dive into specifics.
‘Elon’s really not leaving,’ Trump said Friday in the Oval Office. ‘He’s going to be back and forth … it’s his baby. And I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things. But Elon’s service to America has been without comparison in modern history.’
DOGE’s efforts to cut waste have led to roughly $175 billion in savings due to asset sales, contract cancellations, fraudulent payment cuts, in addition to other steps to eliminate costs, according to a May 26 update from DOGE’s website. That translates to roughly $1,086.96 in savings per taxpayer, according to the website.
Meanwhile, Musk signaled that despite his departure as a special employee, DOGE would only continue to pick up steam and that DOGE is now an essential aspect of the federal government.
‘This is not … the end of DOGE, but really the beginning. My time as a special government appointee necessarily had to end,’ Musk said Friday in the Oval Office. ‘The DOGE team will only grow stronger over time. The DOGE influence will only grow stronger. I liken it to a sort of person of Buddhism. It’s like a way of life, so it is permeating throughout the government. And I’m confident that over time, we’ll see $1 trillion of savings, and a reduction in $1 trillion of waste, fraud reduction.’
The White House has said that DOGE leadership following Musk’s departure will continue through members of Trump’s Cabinet.
‘The DOGE leaders are each and every member of the president’s Cabinet and the president himself, who is wholeheartedly committed to cutting waste, fraud and abuse from our government,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday at a White House press briefing.
‘The entire Cabinet understands the need to cut government waste, fraud and abuse,’ Leavitt said. ‘And each Cabinet secretary at their respective agencies is committed to that. That’s why they were working hand in hand with Elon Musk. And they’ll continue to work with their respective DOGE employees who have onboarded as political appointees at all of these agencies. So surely the mission of DOGE will continue, and many DOGE employees are now political appointees and employees of our government.’
A senior White House official previously told Fox News Digital that DOGE is now part of the ‘DNA’ of the federal government, and that the agency will continue to function as it has done so far.
‘The DOGE employees at their respective agency or department will be reporting to and executing the agenda of the president through the leadership of each agency or department head,’ the official said.
Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
