Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s days in the Donald Trump administration may be numbered as a group of lawmakers have pushed for his removal for the executive branch. According to Express News, a group of 77 Democratic legislators has urged to establish a deadline for Trump’s ‘first buddy’ Musk- May 30- to conclude his role within the administration. Musk has been referred to variously as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a senior aide to President Donald Trump, and a “special government employee.”
A “special government employee”, under federal law, can only serve a maximum of 130 days in office. The group of lawmakers, led by Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), asserted in a letter to the president that Musk has utilized his position as a “special government employee” to enrich himself — while cutting billions from the federal budget and affecting critical services.
Lawmakers want Musk out
“In his short time in government, Elon Musk has done enormous harm to working Americans,” the Wednesday letter, obtained by Axios, stated. “Musk’s reckless destruction of government agencies has led to everything from seniors having challenges accessing Social Security to veterans losing access to care at VA hospitals.”
The letter also pointed out the potential conflicts of interest in the billions in federal contracts awarded to Musk’s SpaceX. The lawmakers expressed their “demand that you stop ignoring federal law and ethics rules to empower an unelected billionaire”, the report stated.
Earlier this month, Donald Trump told his inner circle and cabinet Elon Musk’s chainsaw-wielding tour of the federal bureaucracy as a special government employee will eventually come to a close. : “He’s got a big company to run … At some point he’s going to be going back,” Trump said of the richest man in the world Monday. “He wants to. I’d keep him as long as I could keep him.”
He added that the heads of agencies who worked with DOGE had “learned a lot,” saying, “I think some of them may try to keep the DOGE people with them, but at a certain point … it will end.”
Trump continued, “There will be a point at which the secretaries will be able to do this work.”
What is Musk’s role in federal govt?
After weeks of dodging the question in February, the White House finally clarified Musk’s role in the federal government. The administration confirmed Musk was a “special government employee,” claiming that it precluded him from certain disclosures required of those working in the federal government. They also mentioned that a lesser-known administrator named Amy Gleason was the official head of the U.S. DOGE Service agency.
“Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X.
Musk believes that his work with DOGE will be completed by the end of May. “I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame,” he told Bret Baier of Fox News last month.
When is Musk quitting DOGE?
Elon Musk, a key ally in the US President Donald Trump administration, may leave the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) soon at the end of next month. His unconfirmed departure is leading to questions about what will happen to the government agency when Musk is no longer involved and has also sparked speculations of a possible rift with President Trump.
His exit was expected because of federal regulations limit special government employees (SGEs) to a maximum of 130 days in office. For Musk, that timeline means his last day at the department of government efficiency will be 30 May, exactly 130 days after Trump’s inauguration.
Elon Musk stepping down from DOGE has sparked rumours about tensions between the tech billionaire entrepreneur and the President. The news represents a shift in the Trump-Musk relationship from a month ago, when White House officials & allies were predicting Musk was ‘here to stay’ and that Trump would find a way to blow past the 130-day time limit,” Politico capitol bureau chief Rachel Bade breathlessly reported on X Wednesday morning, labeling her stating of the obvious a “SCOOP.”
Musk has made waves in his short time with the Trump administration, leading DOGE in making major cuts at the US Agency for International Development and the Department of Education, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Social Security Administration.
