Elon Musk leaves the Trump administration

Elon Musk is leaving his government role as a senior adviser to President Donald Trump after leading efforts to reduce and reform the federal bureaucracy, the AP reports.

His departure, announced Wednesday evening, marks the end of a chapter that included thousands of layoffs, the closure of government agencies and a series of lawsuits.

He sharply lowered the target for spending cuts — first from $2 trillion to $1 trillion, then to $150 billion. He occasionally clashed with other Trump administration officials who viewed his efforts to change the structures of their departments as unwelcome.

Musk's role in the administration was initially temporary, and he had recently signaled that he would return to running his businesses, such as electric car manufacturer Tesla and space company SpaceX.

However, administration officials had not been clear on the exact moment when Musk would step down from leading the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE. He announced his departure unexpectedly in a post on his social media platform, X.

“As my scheduled term as Special Government Employee ends, I want to thank President [Trump] for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” he wrote. “[DOGE’s] mission will be further strengthened, becoming part of the institutional culture across government.”

The announcement comes a day after CBS released parts of an interview in which Musk criticized the key legislation on Trump's agenda, saying he was "disappointed" with what the president called "the big, beautiful bill."

The law includes a combination of tax cuts and immigration controls. Musk called it a “massive spending bill” that increases the federal deficit and “undermines the work” of his Department of Efficiency.

Trump, speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday, defended his agenda, emphasizing the delicate politics of legislative negotiations.

"I'm not happy with some parts, but I'm excited about others," he said, adding that "we'll see how it goes - there's still a long way to go."

The bill passed the House of Representatives and is being considered in the Senate.

Elon Musk's 130-day tenure as a special government employee in the Trump administration was expected to end around May 30.

The administration has stated that DOGE's efforts to restructure and downsize the federal government will continue./ REL