Elon Musk said on Friday that while he is taking a step back from his role in the White House, the Department of Government Efficiency, which he helped spearhead, will continue to “grow stronger.”
Musk appeared alongside President Donald Trump in the Oval Office for a press conference on the end of Musk’s time as a “special government employee.” During the press conference, Trump praised Musk for his work with the DOGE team, and Musk said he would remain an adviser to the president.
“This is not the end of DOGE, but really the beginning,” Musk said. “My time as a special government employee necessarily had to end. It was a limited-time thing … but the DOGE team will only grow stronger over time. The DOGE influence will only grow stronger.”
“It is permeating throughout the government, and I am confident that, over time, we will see … a trillion dollars of waste and fraud reduction,” he added.
Musk, who will return to focusing more of his attention on his companies Tesla and SpaceX — and his mission to get humanity to Mars — added that DOGE still predicts saving the federal government over $160 billion for fiscal year 2025 to 2026. “And that’s climbing,” he said.
“I think the DOGE team is doing an incredible job. They’re going to continue doing an incredible job, and I’ll continue to be visiting here and be a friend and adviser to the president,” Musk continued.
.@elonmusk: "This is not the end of DOGE, but really the beginning… The DOGE team will only grow stronger overtime… It is permeating throughout the government, and I am confident that, over time, we will see — a trillion dollars of waste and fraud reduction." pic.twitter.com/75XZ7ih8qg
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 30, 2025
Some of the government waste the White House said was uncovered by the DOGE team includes over $100 million “for DEI contracts at the Department of Education,” nearly $59 million “for illegal alien hotel rooms in New York City,” $20 million directed to make an “Arab Sesame Street,” and $8 million for gender experiments on mice.
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Trump gifted Musk a golden key and called him “one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced.”
.@POTUS presents @elonmusk with a gold White House key as a gift for his service as a special government employee. pic.twitter.com/vmpp3RcSTm
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 30, 2025
Musk recently grew frustrated over some of the obstacles in the way of cutting government waste and said he will dial back his spending on future political campaigns.
“I think I’ve done enough,” Musk said last week, adding, “If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. I do not currently see a reason.”
Musk faced constant criticism from the Left and Democrats in Washington as he focused on searching for government waste to cut. After he became a senior adviser to Trump and pushed for major government spending cuts, Tesla has been targeted by leftist activists who have set fires to and vandalized vehicles and threatened Tesla dealerships.
Last week, Musk provided some more insight into his decision to step back from his White House role, writing on X that he believes “accelerating GDP growth is essential,” adding that he wants to do so with humanoid robots.
“I have come to the perhaps obvious conclusion that accelerating GDP growth is essential. @DOGE has and will do great work to postpone the day of bankruptcy of America, but the profligacy of government means that only radical improvements in productivity can save our country,” Musk wrote.