Elon Musk is stepping down from his role as a senior adviser to President Donald Trump, concluding a high-profile stint aimed at shrinking and reshaping the federal bureaucracy via the Department of Government Efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement, made Wednesday evening, ends a chapter marked by sweeping agency overhauls, mass layoffs, and a flood of lawsuits. In addition, Musk reportedly found the inner workings of Washington politics frustrating and ultimately achieved far fewer reforms than he had initially envisioned, the Associated Press reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Musk steadily scaled back his spending cut goals \u2014 from an ambitious $2 trillion to $1 trillion, and eventually down to $150 billion \u2014 as he grew increasingly frustrated with the entrenched resistance to his reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He butted heads with senior Trump administration officials who allegedly resented his attempts to overhaul their agencies, and his aggressive push for cuts sparked intense political backlash from both parties, the AP added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Musk\u2019s stint in the Trump administration was always meant to be short-term, and he had recently made clear he planned to refocus on his core ventures, including electric vehicle giant Tesla and aerospace firm SpaceX.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, administration officials had remained vague about when Musk would officially step away from his role leading DOGE. He ultimately announced his departure abruptly in a post on X, his social media platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Musk also ended his tenure with the Trump administration on an upbeat note, predicting that DOGE will continue to influence congressional spending reductions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThe @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The legislation contains a mix of tax cuts and enhanced immigration enforcement, along with some spending reductions. Musk described it as a \u201cmassive spending bill\u201d that increases the federal deficit and \u201cundermines the work\u201d of DOGE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful,\u201d Musk said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t know if it could be both.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump commented on the legislation from the White House on Wednesday, indicating that he didn\u2019t think it was perfect, either, but acknowledging the difficulties in getting Congress to go along with certain aspects of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m not happy about certain aspects of it, but I\u2019m thrilled by other aspects of it,\u201d he said, further suggesting that changes could be made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to see what happens,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s got a way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bill narrowly passed the GOP-controlled House this month. It\u2019s currently being debated in the Republican-controlled Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some GOP lawmakers also acknowledged and shared Musk\u2019s frustration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI sympathize with Elon being discouraged,\u201d said Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking at a Milwaukee Press Club event on Wednesday, Johnson added that he was \u201cpretty confident\u201d there was enough opposition \u201cto slow this process down until the president, our leadership, gets serious\u201d about reducing spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that no amount of pressure the president could apply would change his position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaker Mike Johnson has urged the Senate to keep changes to the legislation to a minimum, warning that House Republicans negotiated a \u201cvery delicate balance\u201d that could unravel if the bill is significantly altered. Because the House must vote again to approve the final version after Senate revisions, any major changes could jeopardize its passage, the AP noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Johnson thanked Musk for his efforts on Wednesday, pledging to pursue more spending cuts moving forward. He said, \u201cThe House is eager and ready to act on DOGE\u2019s findings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The AP added: \u201cThe White House is sending some proposed rescissions, a mechanism used to cancel previously authorized spending, to Capitol Hill to solidify some of DOGE\u2019s cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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