Donald Trump and Elon Musk, close confidantes since the President’s run to the Oval Office, are said to be splitting ways with the Tesla billionaire set to step down from his role
Elon Musk has had a fall from grace in Washington DC(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Elon Musk, a key figure in Donald Trump ’s chaotic presidency so far, has had a falling out with the US president – with a decision over China believed to have played a part.
Musk has been heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force since Trump returned to the White House in January, where he has overseen huge cuts to budgets across multiple departments and sweeping layoffs of federal employees. However reports of his imminent departure have followed several weeks of tensions between the billionaire and other top appointments to Trump’s White House team, including one meeting where he is said to have clashed with Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
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Musk and Donald Trump are said to be splitting ways(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Trump is said to have told members of his cabinet Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role ‘soon’, according to sources. One of the deciding factors is said to be when the president was incensed to find Musk was scheduled to receive a briefing from the Pentagon over China – where Tesla has a large presence, says MailOnline.
One senior official previously described Musk’s leadership style as “erratic and disruptive”, adding his tendency to bypass government channels frequently left Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and other key figures furious. His unvetted plans to slash entire federal agencies reportedly created internal crises, with administration officials forced to walk back or clarify his comments.
Trump was said to be irate Musk was set to sit in on a meeting over China(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Asked about the future of DOGE without Musk, Trump said: “Well, I can’t tell you that… I can say this – a lot of the people working with DOGE are the secretaries and heads of various agencies – and they’ve learned a lot. “Some of them may try and keep the DOGE people with them. But, at a certain point, I think it will end.”
Other issues which have caused rifts between Musk and Trump’s team include the billionaire’s stinging defeat in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. The Democratic-endorsed Susan Crawford triumphed over Brad Schimel, supported by both Musk and Trump, in what many political pundits call a litmus test for Trump’s second term in office.
Trump said Musk will be stepping down from his Doge role soon(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The result underscored the risks of his deepening political involvement and has fuelled concerns within the Trump camp that his continued presence in government could do more harm than good.
Over the weekend Musk also took aim at Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro , writing: “A PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing. Results in the ego/brains>>1 problem.”
According to three White House insiders speaking to Politico, Trump made it clear in private remarks that he was ‘pleased’ with Musk’s efforts so far – but told his team that the DOGE chief will be ‘stepping back’ from his position ‘in the coming weeks’. Trump’s aides are said to have become increasingly concerned about the billionaire’s unpredictability and have begun to see him as a political liability, the sources alleged.