Elon Musk is no longer physically working at the White House following his high-profile role in the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term.
According to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Musk has stepped back from day-to-day operations in his position as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Trump-created task force aimed at drastically reducing the size and scope of the federal government.
“Instead of meeting with him in person, I’m talking to him on the phone, but it’s the same net effect,” Wiles told The New York Post on Tuesday.
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“He’s not out of it altogether. He’s just not physically present as much as he was.”
Musk, who was appointed in January as an unpaid special government employee, has spent the last three months attending Cabinet meetings, flying on Air Force One, and participating in high-level budget meetings — often with his young son, known publicly as “Lil X,” in tow.
His influence at the center of federal policy sparked both controversy and praise, depending on the audience.
Under the DOGE initiative, Musk led an aggressive cost-cutting campaign across the federal bureaucracy, which the Trump administration dubbed the “Deep State of Waste.”
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His team reportedly led the firing of over 200,000 federal employees and moved to dismantle major agencies including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
The effort drew numerous legal challenges and sparked protests outside Tesla showrooms from opponents who accused Musk of using federal cuts to benefit the tech industry.
“Starting next month, I will be allocating far more of my time to Tesla,” Musk said during an earnings call last week.
“The major work of establishing [DOGE] has been completed.”
Musk’s 130-day term as a federal appointee is set to expire at the end of May.
Although he is stepping away from a full-time government role, Musk signaled a willingness to remain involved in a limited capacity.
“I would still be interested in continuing to spend a day or two a week on government matters, as long as it is useful,” he said.
🚨 ELON MUSK: “The large slug of work necessary to get the DOGE team in place is mostly done, and I think, starting probably next month, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly.
I’ll have to continue DOGE for I think we’ve laid the remainder of the President’s term… pic.twitter.com/h6kLyvX8uS
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) April 22, 2025
Despite the headlines and sweeping claims of success, the administration has yet to publish a full accounting of how much money DOGE has saved.
A website affiliated with the initiative claims over $160 billion in taxpayer savings, but independent watchdogs have noted inaccuracies and errors on the site and criticized the lack of transparency around the data.
Critics, particularly on the left, have condemned the program as reckless, warning that the cuts could impact humanitarian aid, emergency response, and regulatory oversight.
Supporters argue that the reductions are a long-overdue response to decades of unchecked federal expansion.
“Elon Musk may no longer be physically here, but the people that are doing this work are here doing good things and paying attention to the details,” Wiles said.
“He’ll be stepping back a little, but he’s certainly not abandoning it. And his people are definitely not.”
The move signals a shift in how DOGE will operate moving forward, with Musk’s staff remaining based at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
It also raises questions about the long-term future of the controversial cost-cutting program, which has been both a defining policy of Trump’s second term and a major flashpoint in ongoing partisan debates over the role of the federal government.
As of now, no official announcement has been made regarding Musk’s successor or whether DOGE will be institutionalized beyond Musk’s leadership.
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