President Donald Trump said Elon Musk is "really not leaving" even as his four-month stint as Department of Government efficiency head is coming to a close, Newsmax reported. Trump made this announcement Friday from the Oval Office.
Trump thanked the Tesla billionaire for his work in slashing government waste and spending. During Musk's tenure, he saved taxpayers billions of dollars while cutting thousands of employees.
Musk looked on as he stood behind Trump, who was seated at the Resolute Desk, when he made the announcement. "Elon is really not leaving. He's going to be back and forth," Trump said.
Trump: "Elon's really not leaving. He's gonna be back and forth." pic.twitter.com/5PsT7V6Edm
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 30, 2025
There have been reports that the relationship between the president and the SpaceX mogul has been rocky. The press conference seemed to be a way for Trump and Musk to show a united front even amid disagreements.
Musk touted his ability to cut from the budget, though he said the "banal evil of bureaucracy" prevented it from being much more. "This is not the end of DOGE but really the beginning," Musk said.
The positive tone of this news conference was in contrast to earlier in the week when Musk slammed Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" for its bloated price tag and cuts to green energy subsidies, The Hill reported. Musk said he was "disappointed" when it passed the House of Representatives.
"I was, like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit … and it undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Musk said on CBS Sunday Morning. "I think a bill can be big, or it could be beautiful," Musk said.
"I don’t know if it could be both. My personal opinion," Musk added. Nevertheless, Trump presented Musk with a signed box containing a symbolic golden key, stating that it was reserved for "very special people."
The Daily Beast reported that Trump announced the plan in March for Musk to ease out of his role at DOGE because of Musk's volatility. The announcement came following an alleged blowup between Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Now, former Trump strategist Steve Bannon is saying that Musk "got physical" with Secretary Scott Bessent in another blowup in Apil. They had a disagreement about the lackluster impact he made at DOGE as Bassent confronted Musk over disappointing results.
"Scott Bessent called him out and said, ‘You promised us a trillion dollars (in cuts), and now you’re at like $100 billion, and nobody can find anything, what are you doing?' And that’s when Elon got physical. It’s a sore subject with him," Bannon explained.
"It wasn’t an argument, it was a physical confrontation. Elon basically shoved him," Bannon clarified. On Friday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the disagreement existed but didn't elaborate on the physical nature of it.
Perhaps it's best that Musk back away from the administration and just allow Trump to call on him for advice from time to time. What Musk has accomplished was significant and a great start to a more austere Washington, D.C., mindset even if it fell short of his promises.
