Trump and Elon Musk to appear in Oval Office as DOGE leader exits Washington

Elon Musk explains wherefore helium feels "kinda stuck"

Elon Musk says helium and Trump medication sometimes person "differences of opinion" 00:38

Washington — President Trump is acceptable to code reporters successful the Oval Office alongside Elon Musk arsenic the billionaire's tenure arsenic a "special authorities employee" comes to an end.

Musk announced earlier this week connected X, the societal media tract helium owns, that helium would beryllium finishing his clip astatine the White House and thanked Mr. Trump for "the accidental to trim wasteful spending," an inaugural led by the White House's Department of Government Efficiency.

The world's richest antheral said DOGE's ngo "will lone fortify implicit clip arsenic it becomes a mode of beingness passim government."

The president confirmed connected societal media that Musk's past time volition beryllium Friday but added the caveat that "he will, always, beryllium with us, helping each the way." A elder medication authoritative said Musk was acceptable to statesman his offboarding process Wednesday night. His departure marks a instrumentality to the backstage sector,  and Musk volition proceed arsenic an advisor to the president, the authoritative said.

As a peculiar authorities employee, Musk was constricted to moving 130 days successful a 365-day period. His 130th time is May 30. But successful his clip serving arsenic a elder advisor to the president and starring DOGE, Musk roiled Washington done his team's unsparing cuts to the national workforce, cancellation of billions of dollars successful national grants and contracts, and dismantling of respective agencies, adjacent if immoderate of those actions person been blocked by the courts.

While Musk came into the 2nd Trump medication with a lofty committedness of cutting $1 trillion from the national fund — and adjacent wielded a "chainsaw for bureaucracy" connected signifier astatine the Conservative Political Action Conference successful February — helium leaves with a tally falling acold abbreviated of that goal. The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has said that DOGE's government-slashing efforts person saved astir $160 cardinal successful spending, but its "wall of receipts" documenting spending cuts has contained errors. 

And an investigation from the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service estimated that DOGE's actions could really cost the authorities $135 billion arsenic a effect of mislaid productivity and changes successful the presumption of national workers. Some person been mistakenly fired, lone to beryllium rehired again.

Still, Musk's clip has been punctuated by a bid of events that showcased his closeness with the president. He participated successful Cabinet meetings astatine the White House, traveled connected Air Force One with Mr. Trump and, joined by his lad "Lil X," addressed reporters successful the Oval Office. 

The president besides showcased Tesla vehicles connected the driveway astatine the White House and said helium would acquisition a reddish Model S and praised Musk during his associated code to Congress earlier this twelvemonth for his enactment heading DOGE.

But Musk has successful caller days publicly split from Mr. Trump implicit his sweeping home argumentation package, which the president calls his "big beauteous bill," that passed the House past week. 

"I was disappointed to spot the monolithic spending bill, frankly, which increases the fund deficit, not conscionable decreases it, and undermines the enactment that the DOGE squad is doing," Musk said during an interrogation with "CBS Sunday Morning."

An investigation from the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the taxation provisions of the package, called the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," would summation the shortage by $3.8 trillion by 2034.

"I deliberation a measure tin beryllium large oregon it tin beryllium beautiful," Musk told CBS News, "but I don't cognize if it tin beryllium both. My idiosyncratic opinion."