Elon Musk’s right-hand man is the latest headed out the door in a DOGE exodus that includes the billionaire himself and Stephen Miller’s wife.
Steve Davis’ exit follows Musk’s announcement on Wednesday that his time is up at DOGE, where he launched a sweeping and chaotic four-month campaign to slash government waste.
Just hours earlier, CNN reported Katie Miller, who is married to President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff, was also out, with sources saying she will now work “full time”for Musk and has been helping to arrange media appearances separate to his government work.
A top leader at DOGE, Davis managed daily operations such as hirings and firings and actioning Musk’s directives on cost-cutting targets at various agencies, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news.
Several other top DOGE officials will also reportedly depart, including James Burnham and Brad Smith.
News of Davis’ departure surprised some department staffers, who said he had been engaged in his work as recently as Wednesday, WSJ reported.
The White House did not immediately return the Daily Beast’s request for comment on Davis’ exit.
The exodus has fueled rumors of friction between Musk and Trumpworld, especially after the Tesla founder bashed Trump’s signature spending bill. Stephen Miller was among the Trump officials who publicly hit back this week.
Davis, an engineer, is a decades-long Musk loyalist who has worked for the businessman at his various companies, including SpaceX and the social media platform X. Davis has led the Musk-owned Boring Company since 2018. The New York Times reported earlier this year that Musk, during a transition meeting ahead of Trump’s inauguration, described Davis as “like chemo,” telling attendees, “a little chemo can save your life; a lot of chemo could kill you.”
In his Wednesday announcement, Musk said his scheduled time as a “special government employee” was reaching its end, and thanked Trump for “the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.”
The “special government employee” designation allows nongovernment workers to serve in federal roles for up to 130 days. For Musk, his window closes on Friday.
The world’s richest man had shared his intention last month to step back from government to focus on his businesses, which faced brand damage and tumbling sales while Musk courted controversy and headlines by Trump’s side.
Musk told Ars Technica on Tuesday he “probably did spend a bit too much time on politics.”
“It’s not like I left the companies. It was just relative time allocation that probably was a little too high on the government side, and I’ve reduced that significantly in recent weeks,” he said.
Musk set an initial savings goal for DOGE of $2 trillion in cuts, but conceded in January it was unrealistic. The department estimates it has found $175 billion in savings, but analysts have questioned if the numbers add up.
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