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President Donald Trump has privately told Cabinet members that Elon Musk will step back from his role in the administration soon, according to several reports.
Musk, who has been leading the Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to reduce the federal workforce and budget drastically, will soon step into a supporting role, anonymous Trump insiders told Politico and ABC News. Trump discussed this with Cabinet members at a March 24 meeting, Politico reports.
The tech mogul is officially designated as a “special government employee,” which means his role expires after 130 days. That would mean the role ends in late May or early June, but many expected the White House to extend the role or find another way to keep him in a front-line position, ABC News reports.
Musk has reportedly clashed with top administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The pair had a heated argument in front of Trump and nearly two dozen others during a cabinet meeting last month, The New York Times reported. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called it a “great and productive meeting” at the time.
President Donald Trump told his Cabinet that Elon Musk will soon take on more of a supporting role in the administration, a new report reveals
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President Donald Trump told his Cabinet that Elon Musk will soon take on more of a supporting role in the administration, a new report reveals (AFP via Getty Images)
Trump administration insiders tell Politico that Musk is likely to stick around as an informal adviser, while another said that anyone who predicts Musk will disappear entirely is “fooling themselves.”
Leavitt called Politico’s story “garbage” on X. Quoting Leavitt’s post, Musk added: “Yeah, fake news.”
“Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete,” Leavitt wrote on X.
The president also appears to be priming the transition in his public comments, however,. On Monday, when asked about Musk’s limit, he told reporters that the billionaire would want "to go back to his company," and that "[Musk] wants to. I'd keep him as long as I could keep him."
Musk’s special government employee role will expire in late May or early June
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Musk’s special government employee role will expire in late May or early June (REUTERS)
The news comes as the DOGE boss faces ridiculous over the outcome of the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Musk inserted himself in the race, handing out $1 million checks to two voters, campaigning in the state while wearing a cheesehead head and, perhaps most significantly, backing GOP pick Brad Schimel to the tune of $20 million.
Still, Democratic candidate Susan Crawford won, keeping the court’s 4-3 liberal majority. After her victory, Crawford said: “I never could have imagined that I would be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin... and we won.”
Reacting to Schimel’s loss on Tuesday night, Musk wrote on X: “The long con of the left is corruption of the judiciary.”