WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Friday (May 30) that billionaire Elon Musk will remain a close adviser, even after the Tesla CEO departs the administration following a chaotic four-month tenure that saw him disrupt dozens of foreign agencies in his effort to slash government spending.
During a joint press conference in the Oval Office, Trump lauded Musk and defended his cost-cutting campaign as the head of the Department of Governmental Efficiency. The group has eliminated thousands of jobs and canceled billions of dollars in spending, including the majority of US foreign aid, but has thus far fallen far short of Musk’s lofty initial promises.
“Elon is really not leaving. He’s going to be back and forth,” Trump said from behind the Resolute Desk, as Musk stood to his right, wearing a black DOGE hat and a T-shirt that read “The Dogefather” in the style of the movie “The Godfather.”
The press conference appeared aimed at showing unity after Musk prompted frustration among White House officials this week by criticizing Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill as too expensive. Some senior aides, including Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, saw Musk’s remarks on the tax bill as an open break from the administration, with Miller particularly irked by the comments, a source familiar with the matter said.
Trump gave Musk a large golden key inside a wooden box bearing his signature, a gift he said he reserved only for “very special people.” Musk, in turn, admired the gold finishings that Trump has installed around the Oval Office.
The White House and senior aides had insisted earlier in Trump’s term that Musk, the world’s richest man, was a key figure who wasn’t going anywhere.
But more recently, they began pointing to the expiration of his 130-day mandate as a special government employee, which was set to end around May 30, as a natural endpoint.
Musk, meanwhile, has said he intends to devote most of his energy to his business empire, including Tesla and SpaceX, after some investors expressed concern that DOGE was occupying too much of his time.
