Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has officially ended his brief but impactful role in the U.S. government, citing disappointment with President Donald Trump’s massive new spending bill. His departure marks a rare public break with the Republican leader whom he strongly supported during the 2024 campaign.
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According to a report by CBS News, Musk expressed frustration over the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” which passed the House last week and is now headed to the Senate. The bill includes extensive tax relief and spending cuts, but critics say it will inflate the national deficit by up to $4 trillion over the next decade.
“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” Musk wrote on his platform X. He added, “The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
Musk’s comments came amid rising criticism of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which he headed. In an interview with CBS News, he said, “I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill… it increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.”
The White House has attempted to downplay the fallout. Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, stated that DOGE-related cuts would be handled separately, as the current bill does not constitute a full budget.
Despite his initial enthusiasm, Musk had already begun stepping away from his governmental duties in April to focus on his companies, SpaceX and Tesla. In a separate Washington Post interview, Musk lamented that DOGE had become a “whipping boy” for critics of the administration.
He also acknowledged broader challenges: “The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized… it’s an uphill battle trying to improve things in DC.”
DOGE did achieve some milestones, including firing tens of thousands of government employees and reducing several departmental budgets. However, Musk’s own companies suffered during the backlash — Tesla dealerships were attacked, and profits dropped.
“I didn’t achieve all my goals with DOGE, and it hurt Tesla. People were burning Teslas. That’s really uncool,” Musk said.
The move also signals a potential retreat from politics for Musk, who last week confirmed he would scale back political donations after spending over $250 million to support Trump’s 2024 campaign.
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