Kelly Loeffler, head of the Small Business Administration, smiles as Elon Musk speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on April 30, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
The tech billionaire, who leads both SpaceX and Tesla, was hired as a "special government employee," which is a role Congress created in 1962 that allows the executive or legislative branch to hire temporary employees for specific short-term initiatives.
Special government employees are permitted to work for the federal government for "no more than 130 days in a 365- day period," according to data from the Office of Government Ethics. Musk's 130-day time frame, beginning on Inauguration Day, runs dry May 30.
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told the New York Post Tuesday that Musk is no longer working regularly from the White House.
"Instead of meeting with him in person, I’m talking to him on the phone, but it’s the same net effect," Wiles told the outlet as the tech billionaire prepares to depart from his role at DOGE. "He hasn’t been here physically, but it really doesn’t matter much."
Elon Musk, wearing two hats, speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, April 30, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
DOGE is a temporary cross-departmental organization that was established to slim down and streamline the federal government. The group itself will be dissolved July 4, 2026, according to Trump's executive order.
Musk and Trump have both previously previewed that Musk's role was temporary and would come to end in the coming weeks.
Elon Musk is expected to depart from DOGE when his time as a special government employee runs out. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
"You, technically, are a special government employee and you're supposed to be 130 days," Fox News' Bret Baier asked Musk during an exclusive interview with the DOGE leader in March. "Are you going to continue past that or do you think that's what you're going to do?"
"I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame," Musk responded.
Trump also told the media in March that he would keep Musk "as long as I can keep him," but that "he's got a big company to run."
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Tesla dealerships have faced repeated protests amid Musk's work with DOGE, including physical attacks on cars and monetary boycotts of the company.
Musk noted during the Cabinet meeting that protesters "do like to burn my cars, which is not great," which received laughter from colleagues.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/elon-musk-receives-applause-from-cabinet-he-begins-planned-departure-from-doge-role