US President Donald Trump said Elon Musk is “really not leaving” the White House, as the tech billionaire formally leaves his government role, following clashes with cabinet officials and criticism over his cost-cutting efforts.
The two men made a show of unity at a press conference to send Musk off Friday, with Trump praising the Tesla CEO as a great business leader. Despite DOGE’s failure to slash its stated goal of $1 trillion from the federal budget, Musk insisted “the DOGE team will only grow stronger over time,” and that he would continue advising Trump.
Musk’s top lieutenants remain in place across the government, and his goals have become “indistinguishable from that of the broader Trump administration,” Wired argued.
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