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Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk announced his departure from his role as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump, ending his brief but high-profile tenure as a Special Government Employee tasked with reducing federal bureaucracy.
Musk QUITS Trump Govt After Clash Over 'Big & Beautiful' Tax Bill | BREAKING NEWS
Musk’s exit comes amid growing Republican divisions over Trump’s controversial spending bill and mounting criticism of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), which Musk led.Musk a day before his announcement also criticised Donald Trump's "big beautiful bill."
Elon Musk exits DOGE, jokes about leftists 'burning my cars'
Here are 10 key points:
- Musk announces exit on X: “As 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." Meanwhile, a White House official, speaking anonymously, confirmed Musk’s departure from the advisory role.
- Break with Trump over spending bill: Musk’s exit follows his public criticism of Trump’s flagship legislative proposal, the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” which includes sweeping tax relief and government spending cuts.
- 'It can be big or beautiful, but not both': In an interview with CBS, Musk said, “I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful. But I don’t know if it could be both,” calling it a “massive spending bill” that increases the budget deficit.
- Senator Ron Johnson backs Musk’s criticism: “I sympathise with Elon being discouraged,” said Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), adding there’s likely enough Republican opposition to stall the bill unless fiscal concerns are taken seriously.
- Trump defends bill amid backlash: Responding to critics, Trump said, “I’m not happy about certain aspects of it, but I’m thrilled by other aspects of it… It’s got a way to go,” defending the measure as a product of compromise.
- Doge under fire: Musk, in a separate interview with The Washington Post, said Doge had become a “whipping boy” for the administration’s failures. “Something bad would happen anywhere, and we would get blamed for it even if we had nothing to do with it.”
- Trump hints at Musk’s return to business:President Trump, speaking in March and quoted by Politico, had already hinted that Elon Musk’s tenure in government might be short-lived. “I think he is amazing but I also think he is got a big company to run and so at some point he is going to be going back. He wants to. I would keep him as long as I could keep him,” Trump said. He added that the influence of Doge would continue even after Musk’s departure: “There will be a point at which the secretaries will be able to do this work.”
- Internal resistance and missed goals: Musk blamed entrenched federal bureaucracy for Doge’s limited success, stating, “The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized.” Despite removing tens of thousands from government payrolls, Musk admitted Doge fell short of its goals
- Personal toll and backlash: Musk’s companies were impacted by his political role. Tesla faced protests and even arson attacks. “People were burning Teslas. Why would you do that? That’s really uncool,” he said.
- Return to private ventures and political retreat: Musk is now refocusing on SpaceX and Tesla after a turbulent political stint. Following the explosion of a Starship prototype over the Indian Ocean, he said he would step back from politics after spending roughly $250 million backing Trump.
Musk says Trump’s agenda bill ‘undermines’ DOGE mission
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