Politico reported today that Elon Musk would leave DOGE "in the coming weeks." That drew a rebuke from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who called the report "garbage."
This “scoop” is garbage.
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) April 2, 2025
Elon 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. https://t.co/Brppff6SKi
Musk was hired on as a "Special Government Employee" (SGE) in January. The SGE designation caps an employee's workdays per year at 130. Musk started on January 20, meaning that his SGE employment will be reached at the end of May.
If Musk is still in Washington at the end of May, it will be because he's been chained to his desk. Musk has half a dozen businesses that can't run themselves, and he may want to get out of the line of fire sooner rather than later.
Trump told reporters on Monday, "I think he’s got a big company to run... and at some point, he’s going to be going back. He wants to.”
“I’d keep him as long as I could keep him,” the president added.
There's no dissatisfaction with Musk. Indeed, Musk has acted as a lightning rod, drawing fire away from Trump and deflecting criticism since he took on his role as... whatever he is. "Special Government Employee" seems to be the best description of Musk's duties.
The report at Politico, based on anonymous sources, claims that not everyone is pleased with Musk's performance:
Musk’s looming retreat comes as some Trump administration insiders and many outside allies have become frustrated with his unpredictability and increasingly view the billionaire as a political liability, a dynamic that was thrown into stark relief Tuesday when a conservative judge Musk vocally supported lost his bid for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat by 10 points.
It also represents a stark shift in the Trump-Musk relationship from a month ago, when White House officials and allies were predicting Musk was “here to stay” and that Trump would find a way to blow past the 130-day time limit.
That's silly. Trump has done everything possible to stretch the law, challenge the law, and test the limits of the law. But he's never broken the law, and that's what blowing by the 130-day time limit on SGE employees would do.
Even if there's a workaround for the SGE limits, would Musk agree while Tesla is sinking?
Tesla’s sales fell by nearly 150,000, quarter over quarter. The dissonance is reinforced by the fact that, even after the updated Model Y’s launch in China, Tesla is offering zero percent financing there on a new-ish product that should sell itself.
Musk sees Trump as the last chance to save Western Civilization — at least, the West as we now know it. He's given Trump the best start possible toward achieving many of his goals. If he wants to leave in late May, Trump will wish him well and bid him adieu.
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