Elon Musk’s role as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is set to expire next month.
Due to his role as a ‘special government employee’, Musk can legally only work 130 days a year for the federal government. That means his last day at DOGE would be 30 May, 130 days since Trump’s inauguration.
However, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that Musk “will depart from public service... when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.”
Musk said that reports he is leaving soon are “fake news”.
DOGE
DOGE was announced by Trump shortly after his election. The department is designed to “slash excess regulations... and restructure Federal Agencies”.
He suggested it would be “the ‘Manhattan Project’ of our time,” referring to the secret development of nuclear bombs during World War II.
It is led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. As of its latest update, DOGE says it has saved the government $US130 billion ($AU206 billion).
DOGE’s efforts have led to 56,000 federal employees resigning, taking a redundancy payment, or being fired. More job losses are planned.
Departments impacted by the Trump Administration’s cuts include the U.S. Agency for International Development. Approximately 15 of its 10,000 employees will keep their jobs.
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In January, Musk claimed DOGE has also “saved taxpayers over $1 billion in crazy [diversity, equity and inclusion] contracts.”
Musk
Musk is serving under Trump as a “special government employee”, which is a specific category for temporary workers who can only work for the federal government for 130 days a year.
This means that his 130 day role will legally expire in late May, despite Trump’s claims that he is “here to stay.”
On Monday, Trump told U.S. media that “at some point, [Musk is] going to be going back” to running companies including Tesla and SpaceX.
Future
DOGE was initially intended to operate until 4 July 2026.
Last month, Musk told Fox News:
“I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within [the 130 day] time frame.”
The DOGE website has not updated official savings figures this week.
