By Charles Pemu 
Tech magnate Elon Musk has formally exited his role in President Donald Trump’s administration, ending a tumultuous chapter as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk, appointed to spearhead the administration’s cost-cutting crusade, announced his departure just days after publicly criticizing Trump’s hallmark “One Big, Beautiful Bill” for deepening the federal deficit.
Posting on his platform X, Musk wrote, “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending. The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
But behind the cordial farewell lies a sharp policy rift. In interviews with CBS News and the Washington Post, Musk blasted the multi-trillion-dollar spending bill as a betrayal of DOGE’s mandate. “A bill can be big, or it can be beautiful,” he said. “But I don’t know if it can be both.”
The “Big Beautiful Bill” passed in the House and now under Senate review bundles sweeping tax relief with unprecedented discretionary spending. While the White House touts it as a visionary reset of American government, critics, including Musk, argue it threatens to add $4 trillion to the national debt while decimating health care and core public services.
Musk also took aim at Washington’s entrenched bureaucracy and the political blowback aimed at DOGE. “DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything,” he said, citing the agency’s growing reputation as a scapegoat for policy failures.
Despite initial momentum DOGE slashed tens of thousands of federal jobs and shuttered redundant departments, Musk admits the effort faltered under the weight of bureaucracy and political inertia. “The federal bureaucracy is worse than I imagined,” he admitted.
The controversy has also taken a toll on Musk’s businesses. Tesla has seen profits dip amid protests and even arson attacks targeting its vehicles. Meanwhile, SpaceX suffered another high-profile setback on Tuesday when its Starship prototype exploded over the Indian Ocean, prompting Musk to shift focus back to his core ventures.
Adding to the tension, Trump officials attempted to downplay Musk’s criticism. Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller clarified on X that the “Big Beautiful Bill” was not a formal budget act and that DOGE cuts would require separate legislation.
Still, Musk’s disillusionment signals a significant crack in his alliance with Trump. Once the president’s most generous backer contributing nearly a quarter-billion dollars to his 2024 campaign, Musk now appears ready to exit the political stage.
“I’m done playing politics,” Musk reportedly told associates, frustrated by the weaponization of his agency and the political costs to his companies. “I thought I was helping fix the system. Turns out, the system doesn’t want to be fixed.”
As Trump presses ahead with his domestic agenda, Musk retreats to the launch pads of Texas and the assembly lines of Tesla, leaving behind Washington’s marble corridors and a legacy of disruption — unfinished, but unmistakable.