Trump previews DOGE wind-down as Musk looks to exit – Washington Examiner


Trump previews DOGE wind-down as Musk looks to exit

President Donald Trump suggested that the heads of federal agencies would pick up where the Department of Government Efficiency leaves off when Elon Musk steps down from the bureaucracy-slashing initiative. 

As he took questions from reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump responded to questions about how long Musk would lead DOGE and whether the initiative would continue to operate once he leaves. Given his status as a special government employee, Musk’s time at the agency is set to expire on May 30 due to a 130-day work limit imposed on SGEs.

The president said that while he would be happy to keep the “very talented” Musk around “as long as I could,” the DOGE leader would need to exit the initiative “at some point” to run his companies. However, agency heads who have “learned a lot” by watching Musk in action could pick up the slack once the Tesla CEO is gone, Trump added.

“I think he’s amazing, but I also think he’s got a big company to run, and so at some point he’s going to be going back,” Trump said. “Oh, I’d keep him as long as I could keep him. He’s a very talented guy … he’s done a good job. You know, DOGE is, we found numbers that nobody can even believe, like $400 billion, $500 billion — it could be close to a trillion dollars by the time they end on different things.” 

When pressed on whether DOGE would continue operating after Musk leaves, Trump said, “I can’t tell you that” and added that “at some point” DOGE “will end.” 

“[But] I can say this: that a lot of the people that are working with DOGE are the secretaries, you know, the heads of the various agencies, and they’ve learned a lot, and they’re dealing with the DOGE people,” he continued. 

“I think some of them may try and keep the DOGE people with them, but, you know, at some point, I think it will end, but they have also gotten a big education, and they’re doing a really good job. There will be a point at which the secretaries will be able to do this work and do it very, you know, as we say, with the scalpel,” the president explained. 

During an interview on Fox News’s Special Report with Brett Baier last Thursday, Musk suggested he would step down after the 130-day mark.

“I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame,” Musk said. 

As of early March, Musk’s initiative employed around 100 staff members. During a March 10 interview with Fox Business Network’s Larry Kudlow, the DOGE leader said he planned to increase personnel to about 200.

According to Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order establishing DOGE, the initiative will sunset by July 4, 2026.

“The government waste and fraud is so high that it is causing a $2 trillion annual deficit, so that’s 2,000 billion dollars of waste and fraud that’s happening,” Musk said during a recent appearance on Fox News’s Hannity. “The cost of our debt has gotten so high that just the interest payments on the debt exceed the entire military budget, and it was just growing out of control.”

“The country is going bankrupt. A country is no different from a person. If a country overspends and doesn’t spend wisely, just like a person, a country will go bankrupt,” he explained. 

A CBS News/YouGov poll conducted immediately after Trump’s March 4 joint address to Congress suggested the majority of the public supports DOGE’s mission. Over three-quarters of voters surveyed approve of Trump’s outlook on “wasteful government spending.” 

Another NBC News poll conducted last month handed Musk a record-high approval rating. Of those polled, 40% had a “very negative” reaction to DOGE, compared to 30% with “very positive” reactions. The same survey found the highest percentage of respondents, 40%, found DOGE to be a “good idea,” while 37% described the initiative as a “bad idea.” 

President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk talk with reporters near Tesla vehicles on the South Lawn of the White House Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in Washington. (Pool via AP)

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Musk has faced fierce backlash from Democrats for targeting federal bureaucracies. His Tesla brand has also suffered outrage against DOGE’s efforts, leading to nationwide attacks on dealerships, charging stations, and vehicles. The violence has been deemed “domestic terrorism” by the Department of Justice. 

Indivisible, a Democratic-aligned network with ties to left-wing billionaire George Soros, is leading a nationwide protest against Musk and Trump on April 5. Over 900 rallies are planned in the United States.



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