Elon Musk has confirmed that he will depart from his role at the White House and as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, leaving behind several questions about the future of DOGE.
The tech CEO announced he would be stepping down after his “scheduled time” as a government employee came to an end on Wednesday, ending five months of work as one of the most important figures in the second Trump administration.
Why It Matters
Elon Musk has been a defining presence in President Donald Trump‘s second term, taking on a very public role as head of DOGE and a prominent champion of the White House’s other policies on social media.
However, Musk’s notoriety has been a double-edged sword, as he has become closely associated with DOGE’s widespread cuts to federal spending, which has led to protests against the CEO and his companies.
Will DOGE continue without Elon Musk?
Both Musk and the White House have said that DOGE will continue in some form after his departure.
In April, Vice President JD Vance confirmed that Musk would retain an advisory role, but he would not be directly involved in day-to-day management.
“DOGE has got a lot of work to do, and yeah, that work is going to continue after Elon leaves. But fundamentally, Elon is going to remain a friend and an adviser of both me and the president,” Vance said.
Musk echoed the sentiment in his announcement on Wednesday, saying: “The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
Who leads DOGE now?
Russ Vaught, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, is expected to take over the lead role at DOGE after managing much of the agency’s work during Musk’s transition.
Vaught was a key mind behind Project 2025, a manifesto for the next presidency that gained attention during the 2024 election campaign for its conservative approach to reorganizing the federal government.
Vaught and Musk have worked closely together since January, as they have overlapping briefs to reduce federal spending and both hold a dislike for “deep state” federal employees.
Will Elon Musk’s young staffers remain at DOGE?
When DOGE first launched, the appointment of several staffers in their teens and early twenties gained national attention. Many of the staffers were hand-picked by Elon Musk, and given access equivalent to high-ranking government officials in DOGE’s bid to cut down on federal spending.
While their future at DOGE has not been confirmed, many staffers said in a recent interview that they had dropped out of studies and given up other parts of life in order to work at the agency, suggesting that they are committed to working there in the long run.
How much Money has DOGE saved?
As of May, DOGE says, it has saved $170 billion in federal spending. This amounts to 17 percent of the $1 trillion goal, and 8.5 percent of Musk’s $2 trillion “best-case outcome.”
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