We aren’t getting rid of him that easily.
Most Americans thought Elon Musk said a final goodbye to the White House last month after his reign at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was up—but he said on Tuesday that he still plans on being in Washington frequently over the next few years.
Although Musk stepped down from his official role as the leader of DOGE, he told CNBC Tuesday that from now on he plans to be back at the White House “for a few days every few weeks.”
It’s a sharp contrast to what The New York Post reported in late April after Musk admitted he was no longer working from the president’s home.
“Instead of meeting with him in person, I’m talking to him on the phone, but it’s the same net effect,” White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told the Post, later noting that the X CEO “hasn’t been here physically, but it really doesn’t matter much.”
She then added: “The people that are doing this work are here doing good things and paying attention to the details. He’ll be stepping back a little, but he’s certainly not abandoning it. And his people are definitely not.”
Musk, who is transitioning out of his official role, admitted Tuesday that he’ll still be hanging around the White House—but didn’t specify the reason why.
Last month he gave a vague response on how he’d still continue supporting the president, noting he’d likely “continue to spend a day or two per week on government matters for as long as the president would like me to do so and as long as it is useful.”
The world’s richest man’s time in D.C. has been nothing short of dramatic, and a lot of the billionaire’s moves have defined Trump’s second term.
Since Inauguration Day, Musk has personally briefed Trump in the Oval Office, attended cabinet meetings, led the massive effort to slash federal funding, taken trips with Trump on Air Force One, and more.
Musk initially vowed to save $1 trillion through his DOGE efforts, but he ended up missing the mark by $850 billion. He confessed the embarrassing statistic in late April, telling the American public that DOGE only saved around $150 billion—85 percent less than its original goal.
In his attempt to rid the government of “waste, fraud, and abuse,” he’s fired tens of thousands of workers and nearly destroyed agencies like the Department of Education, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
