Elon Musk Steps Down From Government Role Amid Budget Battle With Trump
Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has officially stepped down from his short-lived role in the U.S. government, where he was tasked with slashing federal spending through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The resignation comes amid growing tensions with President Donald Trump over a controversial federal spending bill.
“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” Musk wrote on X, his social media platform.
Despite Musk’s ambitious agenda, his time in government was marked by both aggressive layoffs and mounting political friction. DOGE, the department he oversaw, was responsible for removing tens of thousands of federal employees in a sweeping attempt to downsize the U.S. bureaucracy. But that mission is now under fire not just from political opponents but from Musk himself.
Discontent With Trump’s Spending Bill
Musk’s resignation follows his public disapproval of Trump’s newly passed spending bill, titled the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.” Though the bill combines tax cuts with spending slashes and is touted by Trump as the heart of his domestic economic policy, critics including Musk say it does more harm than good.
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit… and undermines the work the DOGE team is doing,” Musk said in a CBS News interview.
He went further in criticizing the administration’s direction, claiming DOGE had been turned into a scapegoat for broader dissatisfaction with Washington.
“DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything,” Musk lamented in a separate Washington Post interview.
A Rare Break From Trump
Musk’s departure marks a notable shift in his relationship with Trump. The billionaire, who played a key role in financing Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign, had once been a close ally. But now, their visions for government spending appear to have diverged sharply.
While the White House has tried to downplay the fallout, Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, posted a clarification on X, insisting that DOGE cuts would require a separate legislative process and that the new bill is “not an annual budget.”
Still, Musk’s break with the administration is significant. He was one of the highest-profile backers of Trump’s return to office, both politically and financially reportedly donating around $250 million to support his campaign.
Internal Challenges and Public Backlash
Behind the scenes, Musk admitted the government reform mission was far more complex than anticipated. He criticized entrenched bureaucracy and hinted that his unconventional leadership style might not have been a good fit for Washington.
“The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized… It’s an uphill battle trying to improve things in D.C.,” Musk said.
His time in office also came at a cost to his businesses. DOGE’s deep cuts triggered public backlash, including protests targeting Tesla showrooms and even incidents of arson against the company’s electric vehicles.
“People were burning Teslas. Why would you do that? That’s really uncool,” Musk remarked.
Refocusing on SpaceX and Business
Musk is now redirecting his energy toward his companies, particularly SpaceX, which has recently experienced major setbacks in its Mars colonization program. The most recent failure came when a prototype Starship exploded over the Indian Ocean.
With his departure from politics, Musk also signaled that he will reduce his financial involvement in future campaigns, following what he described as a turbulent and politically draining experience.
Elon Musk’s exit from his government role marks a dramatic turn in his brief political chapter. While he may have started with high hopes to trim federal excess, his experience serves as a cautionary tale of the challenges non-politicians face in navigating the complex world of Washington. Whether his efforts will have lasting impact remains to be seen, but one thing is clear Musk is returning to where he thrives: the frontier of innovation, not federal bureaucracy.
Reference
Elon Musk Steps Down From Government Role Amid Budget Battle With Trump