Photo: President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump held a press conference in the Oval Office on May 30 alongside Elon Musk to mark the end of the billionaire entrepreneur’s tenure as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Trump thanked Musk, describing his work as “the most sweeping and consequential government reform program” and said he “has changed the mindset of a lot of people.”
However, despite his term as special government employee ending on Friday, Musk said his work with DOGE and the federal government will continue.
“This is not the end of DOGE, but really the beginning,” Musk said.
Trump confirmed that Musk will continue advising him during his second term in the White House.
“Elon is really not leaving. He’s going to be back and forth,” Trump said. “I have a feeling—it’s his baby, and I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things.”
Musk compared DOGE to Buddhism.
“It’s like a way of life. So it is permeating throughout the government, and I’m confident that over time, we will see a trillion dollars of savings and reduction in a trillion dollars of waste and fraud reduction.”
The tech CEO said he hopes to continue working with Trump in the future.
“I look forward to continuing to be a friend and adviser to the president,” Musk said.
Musk acknowledged the heat he faced for his work with the Trump administration, saying, “What we thought was happening was that if there were any cuts anywhere, then people would assume that was done by DOGE. And so we became … essentially the DOGE bogeyman, where any cut anywhere would be ascribed to DOGE.”
Trump appointed Musk to lead DOGE upon its creation on Jan. 20, when the president signed an executive order to establish the advisory commission to root out waste in the federal government. Since then, DOGE has advocated for funding cuts and layoffs at a number of federal agencies, and Musk has faced scrutiny from Democrats and some Republicans for his work leading the group.
Trump’s order designated Musk as a “special government employee,” a position limited to a term of 130 days before the contract expires. That meant Musk’s time in the federal government would come to an end on Friday.
The tech CEO had said last week that he would be leaving the government soon to resume working at his various companies, including SpaceX and Tesla, around the clock after his social media platform X faced a widespread blackout that affected tens of thousands of users.
On Wednesday, Musk confirmed that he would soon be departing the Trump administration after months of helming DOGE.
“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” Musk wrote on X. “The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
Musk was also a top surrogate of Trump’s 2024 presidential run, donating roughly $288 million to support his campaign.
Trump announced the Friday press conference in a Truth Social post on May 29, writing: “This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way. Elon is terrific! See you tomorrow at the White House.”
During his time at DOGE, Musk advocated for steep cuts to federal spending, which recently put him at odds with congressional Republicans when he criticized Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Speaking with “CBS Sunday Morning” in an episode airing on June 1, Musk said he was disappointed by the bill because of how much it is projected to increase the federal budget deficit, and how it “undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.”
“I think a bill can be big, or it can be beautiful, but I don’t know if it can be both,” Musk said.
Top congressional Republicans responded that the bill is about mandatory spending, while DOGE cuts are focused on discretionary funds.
To codify DOGE savings, the White House will next week send Congress a request to claw back $9.4 billion in previously appropriated funds to public media and foreign aid.
