Elon Musk Steps Down From Trump Administration After Criticizing Budget Plan

Elon Musk has announced his departure from the Trump administration after helping spearhead an aggressive campaign to streamline the U.S. government, which resulted in the elimination of thousands of federal jobs.

In a post shared on his social media platform, X, the billionaire entrepreneur thanked former President Donald Trump for the opportunity to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, popularly referred to as “Doge.”

“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,” Musk wrote. “The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”

According to reports from the BBC, the White House began formally “offboarding” Musk on Wednesday night. His role was always intended to be temporary, allowing him to work up to 130 days a year in a federal capacity. Based on Trump’s January 20 inauguration, Musk was approaching that limit by late May.

However, his exit follows closely after he criticized Trump’s major budget proposal. Musk voiced disappointment with the plan, which includes multi-trillion-dollar tax cuts and significant increases in defense spending.

Speaking to CBS, Musk warned that the budget, often dubbed the “big, beautiful bill” by Trump, could drastically worsen the federal deficit and undermine the efficiency efforts of Doge.

“I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful,” Musk remarked, “but I don’t know if it can be both.”