Insiders say Musk will leave soon, when 130-day cap on government service expires but \u2018Doge\u2019 team set to continue<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elon Musk<\/a>\u2019s polarizing stint slashing and bashing federal bureaucracy will probably soon end, with the world\u2019s richest person\u2019s government service hitting its legal limit in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s got a big company to run \u2026 at some point he\u2019s going to be going back,\u201d Donald Trump<\/a> told reporters on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019d keep him as long as I could keep him,\u201d the president added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a special government employee, Musk faces a strict 130-day cap on his service \u2013 probably expiring in late May if counted from the day of inauguration, despite earlier White House claims Musk was \u201chere to stay<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Administration insiders told Politico<\/a> on Wednesday that Musk would indeed be stepping down from his lead role in the weeks to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Musk called<\/a> the reporting \u201cfake news\u201d and the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, on Wednesday said the Politico story was \u201cgarbage\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cElon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at Doge is complete,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The White House did not immediately respond to the Guardian\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Musk looks for the exit door, his \u201cdepartment of government efficiency\u201d (Doge) is set to continue until 2026 under Trump\u2019s executive order, and high-level leaders installed by Musk to run agencies throughout the government are likely to outlast the billionaire\u2019s tenure in public service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doge has operated figuratively \u2013 and one time literally<\/a> \u2013 with a \u201cchainsaw\u201d through government agencies since Musk joined Trump\u2019s team as an unvetted, high-level employee in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doge has since triggered large-scale civil service layoffs including about 10,000 people at the Department of Health and Human Services this week alone, while moving to eliminate entire agencies such as humanitarian-focused USAID and the state-backed global media outlet Voice of America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There have been an estimated 56,000 federal jobs cut since 20 January and another 75,000 accepting voluntary buyouts, with at least another 171,000 planned reductions, according to the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The huge cuts have not gone over well, according to a new poll<\/a> from Marquette Law School, which found that just 41% of the US public approve of Doge\u2019s work, while Musk\u2019s personal likeability was even lower, at 38%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A mid-March Quinnipiac poll<\/a> found that over half the country believed Musk and Doge were harming the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doge claims $140bn in savings already \u2013 though eagle-eyed reporters<\/a> have identified significant errors in these calculations. Musk told Fox News he expected to accomplish \u201cmost of the work required to reduce the deficit by $1tn\u201d before his time expires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The billionaire\u2019s involvement has raised significant conflict-of-interest concerns given his companies\u2019 extensive government contracts, though as a special government employee, his financial disclosure forms remain confidential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The nearly shuttered USAID had initiated an investigation on agency oversight into Starlink terminals sent to Ukraine, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau was targeted nearly a week after publishing a rule that would put technology companies such as X \u2013 which was planning a partnership with Visa \u2013 in its crosshairs over regulation, and many other agency attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Democrats have increasingly targeted Musk politically, most recently criticizing his over $20m investment in a Wisconsin supreme court race. The New Jersey senator Cory Booker broke the record<\/a> for longest speech in Senate floor history after more than 24 hours assailing Trump and Musk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n