Billionaire Elon Musk announced Wednesday that he is stepping down from his role in the U.S. government, where he had been working to curb federal spending.
His departure comes shortly after a major public disagreement with President Donald Trump over a key spending bill.
“As my tenure as a Special Government Employee concludes, I want to thank President Trump for the opportunity to help reduce wasteful spending,” Musk wrote on his social media platform, X.
He added, “The DOGE mission will only grow stronger over time, becoming a way of life across government.”
The South African-born tech mogul had earlier criticized Trump’s bill, warning it would inflate the deficit and jeopardize the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has already led to the dismissal of tens of thousands of federal employees.
Musk — once a frequent ally seen often at Trump’s side — had gradually shifted focus to his private ventures, SpaceX and Tesla. He also expressed frustration that DOGE had become a “whipping boy” for dissatisfaction with the administration’s policies.
In an interview with CBS News aired Tuesday evening, Musk said, “I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, which, frankly, increases the budget deficit instead of reducing it — undermining the efforts of the DOGE team.”
Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” which passed the House and is now heading to the Senate, combines sweeping tax relief with major spending cuts and is considered the cornerstone of his domestic agenda.
However, critics argue that the bill could slash healthcare funding and add up to \$4 trillion to the national deficit over the next decade.
“A bill can be big, or it can be beautiful. I’m not sure it can be both,” Musk quipped during the interview, which is set to air in full on Sunday.
The White House has downplayed the fallout, avoiding direct reference to Musk. “The Big Beautiful Bill is NOT an annual budget bill,” Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller posted on X in response to Musk’s remarks.
Miller also noted that any cuts under DOGE would require a separate legislative process targeting the federal bureaucracy, in accordance with Senate rules.
Nonetheless, Musk’s remarks mark a notable break with President Trump — a leader he significantly backed, including as the top donor to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
