The potential end of DOGE does not mean Trump will stop shaking up Washington. But it appears the administration’s efforts will be entering a new phase that is less focused on Musk, whose chain saw-wielding work as a presidential adviser made him a political lightning rod.
DOGE was initially envisioned as an independent advisory panel, with Musk sharing leadership with Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur. Ramaswamy dropped out and is running for Ohio governor, and DOGE became part of the government. It was stocked with Musk’s allies, who were dispatched throughout the bureaucracy to cancel contracts, access sensitive data and push for cuts.
Musk presumably has a ticking clock on his tenure. He was hired as a special government employee, which means he can only work 130 days in a 365-day time period.
‘‘I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame,‘’ Musk told Bret Baier of Fox News on March 27. So far DOGE is well short of that target, according to its own calculations, which have been criticized as inflated and inaccurate.
Musk did not commit to leaving the administration by any particular date, and it is unclear how the administration is tracking Musk’s time. On May 30, it will be 130 days since Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Trump told reporters on Monday in the Oval Office that ‘’I’d keep him as long as I could keep him’’ and ‘’he’s a very talented guy.‘’