Tech billionaire Elon Musk vowed the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would carry on and he would remain an adviser to President Trump as he bid farewell to his official government role.
Musk joined Trump in the Oval Office for a press conference on Friday for what was his final day as a special government employee. That title carries a time limit of 130 days, meaning Musk will no longer serve in an official capacity.
His departure has fostered uncertainty about who would lead DOGE’s efforts to slash federal spending and the size of government, but Musk said Friday that lower level officials would remain in their roles.
“This is not the end of DOGE, but really the beginning,” Musk said.
“The DOGE team will only grow stronger over time. The DOGE influence will only go stronger,” Musk added. “It is permeating throughout the government, and I am confident that, over time, we will see a trillion dollars of savings and a reduction in — a trillion dollars of waste and fraud reduction.”
Musk told reporters that he will be “visiting here and be a friend and an adviser to the president.”
The Tesla CEO sported a black hat with “DOGE” printed on it and a t-shirt that read “The DOGEFather.” He also had a bruise near his right eye, which Musk said he got from “horsing around” with his young son, X.
Musk was a near-constant presence in Trump’s orbit during his time in government, building a close relationship with the president while chafing at some other administration officials. Musk frequently appeared with his young son, X, in the Oval Office, on Air Force One, and at Cabinet meetings.
Musk had boasted that DOGE would find $1 trillion in savings, though the actual amount was significantly less than that even as his agency canceled millions of dollars in government contracts and oversaw layoffs of thousands of government workers.
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