Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed his close relationship with Elon Musk on Friday, signaling that the billionaire entrepreneur will remain a trusted adviser despite stepping down from his short-lived yet highly impactful government role.
The announcement came during a farewell ceremony in the Oval Office, where Trump praised Musk for his leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—a temporary but controversial initiative that resulted in sweeping job cuts and massive spending reductions across federal programs. Although the campaign fell short of Musk’s ambitious cost-cutting projections, Trump lauded his contributions.
“Elon is really not leaving. He’s going to be back and forth,” Trump said from behind the Resolute Desk. Musk stood beside him, sporting a black DOGE hat and a T-shirt emblazoned with “The Dogefather” in a font mimicking The Godfather movie logo.
Musk confirmed his departure earlier this week, as his 130-day special government employee term was set to expire around May 30. During that time, he became one of the most powerful unelected figures in Washington, initiating drastic measures that dismantled federal agencies, eliminated longstanding programs, and issued mandates that led to tens of thousands of layoffs.
His influence, however, appeared to diminish in recent weeks amid growing resistance from cabinet members and concerns from investors. Shareholders began questioning whether Musk’s expanding political presence was distracting from his corporate responsibilities, while protests erupted at Tesla locations in the U.S. and Europe. Falling sales and a decline in Tesla’s stock price followed. Even other ventures in his empire—like SpaceX and Starlink—faced scrutiny over their close ties to Trump’s administration.
Friday’s event was meant to project unity, especially after Musk publicly criticized Trump’s expansive tax and spending bill earlier in the week. According to a source familiar with internal discussions, the remarks irked several top aides, including Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who interpreted Musk’s comments as a public rebuke.
Despite this tension, Trump presented Musk with a ceremonial golden key encased in a wooden box bearing his signature—an honor he said he reserves for “very special people.”
“He had to go through the slings and arrows, which is a shame because he’s an incredible patriot,” Trump said.
Musk, admiring the newly installed gold trim around the Oval Office, playfully explained the black eye he sported by saying his five-year-old son had accidentally hit him while they were roughhousing. He reiterated that he would now turn more attention to his businesses and scale back political donations.
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However, Musk made clear that he would still advise the president when needed.
“I expect to remain a friend and an adviser, and certainly, if there’s anything the president wants me to do, I’m at the president’s service,” he said.
Cost-Cutting Goals Fall Short
Upon launching DOGE, Musk had vowed to slash $2 trillion from the federal budget. While DOGE claims to have saved $175 billion, an analysis of public data shows that only a fraction of that amount—less than half—is accounted for on the program’s official website.
U.S. Treasury data reviewed by Reuters indicates that federal agencies targeted by DOGE have collectively reduced spending by only $19 billion compared to the previous year. That accounts for just 0.5% of total federal outlays—far below Musk’s stated objective.
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Still, DOGE and the administration have made a significant dent in the federal workforce, cutting nearly 12%, or 260,000 jobs, out of the 2.3 million civilian positions through a combination of early retirements, buyouts, and termination threats, according to a Reuters assessment.
Musk acknowledged the challenges during the farewell event, attributing the slower-than-expected progress to entrenched bureaucratic resistance.
“This is not the end of DOGE but really the beginning,” he said, voicing optimism that the initiative could still deliver transformative long-term savings.
