United States President Donald Trump has bid goodbye to Elon Musk at a White House event marking the billionaire’s departure from his role in government.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Friday, Trump showered Musk with praise for his work as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative to reduce federal bureaucracy and spending.
“ I just want to say that Elon has worked tirelessly helping lead the most sweeping and consequential government reform programme in generations,” Trump said.
He credited Musk with delivering “a colossal change in the old ways of doing business in Washington” and called Musk’s service “without comparison in modern history”.
Still, the president also assured reporters that DOGE would continue its work even after Musk is gone.
“With Elon’s guidance, [DOGE is] helping to detect fraud, slash waste and modernise broken and outdated systems,” Trump said.
The joint appearance comes as the two men seek to downplay reports of a growing rift, particularly after Musk criticised Trump’s signature budget bill on CBS News. It also coincides with the publication of a New York Times report alleging that Musk has struggled with increasing drug use and personal turmoil behind the scenes.
Musk declined to comment on the Times report during his Oval Office appearance. He also avoided remarking on speculation that his departure was connected to tumbling sales at his car company, Tesla.
Instead, he pointed out that, as a special government employee, he cannot work in the Trump administration for a period exceeding 130 days without facing stricter disclosure and ethics requirements.
He also focused on promoting his work with DOGE and criticising those on the political left who would impede Trump’s agenda.
“This is not the end of DOGE, but really at the beginning,” Musk said, clad in a black T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase “The Dogefather”, written in the style of the gangster film The Godfather. “The DOGE team will only grow stronger over time.”
Trump, meanwhile, emphasised that his relationship with the billionaire – a prominent backer of his 2024 re-election campaign – would continue.
“Elon’s really not leaving. He’s going to be back and forth, I think,” Trump said.
Unclear accounting
Despite White House claims about its efficacy, the extent of DOGE’s cost-savings has remained foggy.
As of Friday, the panel claimed it had achieved an estimated $175bn in savings, made up of “asset sales, contract/lease cancellations and renegotiations, fraud and improper payment deletion, grant cancellations, interest savings, programmatic changes, regulatory savings, and workforce reductions”.
But DOGE’s transparency and methodology have been repeatedly questioned. The only accounting made available to the public adds up to less than half of the claimed figure.
An analysis published on Friday by the news agency Reuters also suggests the actual sum is much lower. Using US Treasury summaries, Reuters found that only $19bn in federal spending had been cut, though it noted that some savings may require more time to be reflected in the Treasury Department’s data.
Regardless, all of those figures fall far short of the goal of $2 trillion saved that Musk initially set out to achieve.
When asked about the discrepancy on Friday, Musk maintained that $1 trillion in savings remained a long-term goal.
“I’m confident that over time, we’ll see a trillion dollars of savings, a reduction – a trillion dollars of waste and fraud reduction,” he said.
But critics have questioned if DOGE will continue with the same verve following Musk’s departure.
Musk and DOGE have long been lightning rods for public criticism, as they implemented sweeping changes to the federal government. Since Trump started his second term as president in January, organisations like the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have seen their funding cut and their staffing slashed.
As a result, employees, contractors, labour groups and state officials have sued to block DOGE’s efforts, with varying levels of success.
Behind the scenes, there have also been reports that Musk clashed with members of Trump’s cabinet, who may seek relief from cuts to their departments after Musk’s exit.
Musk’s foray into government has caused blowback for his companies as well, with protests at Tesla dealerships spreading across the country. Profits plunged 71 percent at Tesla in the first three months of the year, with shareholders calling for Musk to return to work.
When asked by a reporter if Musk’s time in government was “worth it”, he was circumspect. He explained that he felt DOGE had become seen as a “boogeyman”, blamed for any effort to overhaul the federal government.
But he reaffirmed his commitment to being a “friend and adviser to the president” and said the experience was worthwhile.
“I think it was. I think [it] was an important thing,” he added. “I think it was a necessary thing, and I think it will have a good effect in the future.”