“President Trump gave Elon Musk a formal send-off on Friday after one of the most tumultuous experiments in modern American governance, in which the world’s richest man had free rein to slash the federal work force,” as The New York Times puts it.
Musk said he'd turn his focus to his businesses now that his time as a “special government employee” had ended. Trump said Musk would continue to advise the administration on cutting costs.
“The DOGE team will only grow stronger over time,” Musk said.
At the news conference with Trump, Musk was asked about a Times article on Musk’s drug use and “tumultuous” family life. Musk questioned the Times’ credibility and told the reporter to “move on.” Later, he said on social media that he didn’t do drugs, the Times reports.
Here is the CBS News interview with Musk on Tuesday that aired on Sunday, which has gotten a lot of attention.
In the interview, Musk says, “It's not like I agree with everything the administration does. … I was, like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, doesn't decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing. … I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful. But I don't know if it could be both. My personal opinion.”
As far as what Musk’s departure means for DOGE, fired DOGE staffer Sahil Lavingia tells Wired that two of Musk’s closest lieutenants, Steve Davis and Nicole Hollander, appear also to be leaving.
Davis, who's worked with Musk for years, including at X and as CEO of Musk's Boring Company, has been integral to the day-to-day operations of DOGE, Wired says.
Without Davis in charge, Lavingia says, it’s unclear who will lead DOGE — and in what direction. “Steven was the only person who was across everything,” Lavingia tells Wired.
Meanwhile, federal workers from at least six agencies tell Wired that DOGE-style work is escalating in their departments. DOGE appears to be actively recruiting, and over the last week, federal workers have been asked to urgently review and potentially cancel contracts across the government.