DOGE to continue cost-cutting as Elon Musk departs Trump administration

Elon Musk ended his tenure with the Trump administration on Wednesday night, thanking the president and vowing that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would continue without him. The controversial agency, which was started by President Donald Trump and Musk, claims to have saved $175B through its cost-cutting efforts.

Although Musk left the White House disagreeing with Trump over the “big, beautiful bill,” he appeared to end his tenure on good terms with the president.

“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank [Trump] for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” Musk wrote in a post on X.

Then-President-elect Donald Trump walks with Elon Musk before attending a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, Nov. 19, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY / Reuters)

Workforce overhaul

Musk vowed to cut government spending and hit the ground running with a deferred resignation program, which offered government employees the option of resigning or returning to in-office work. Roughly 75,000 federal employees who accepted the deal will retain pay and benefits until Sept. 30.

As the administration faced backlash for the program, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that those who “don’t want to work in the office and contribute to making America great again, then they are free to choose a different line of work, and the Trump Administration will provide a very generous payout of 8 months.”

In his next big move, Musk began a controversial initiative that required all federal employees to send weekly emails detailing what they had accomplished. While workers were instructed not to share classified information, they were told to write “approximately five bullets” and CC their managers.

The email received further backlash, forcing Leavitt to defend this measure as well.

“This is to ensure that federal workers are not ripping off American taxpayers, that they are showing up to the office and that they are doing their jobs. And it’s a very simple task to complete.”

Elon Musk at Trump’s address to Congress. (Getty Images / Getty Images)

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USAID cuts

DOGE once again found itself at the center of controversy when it targeted the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

USAID’s website went dark, and employees were barred from entering its headquarters on Feb. 3, while others had their work put on hold. The Trump administration then announced that all USAID direct-hire personnel would be put on administrative leave.

In early March, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that 83% of USAID programs would be canceled following the conclusion of DOGE’s six-week review. 

The State Department later unveiled its plans to absorb the remaining USAID programs, breaking away from the agency’s history of acting independent of a federal department. This led to the cutting of more than 4,600 personnel, which included the 1,500 that had already been cut.

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Ending DEI

Following Trump’s executive order to end government diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, DOGE announced the American people would save over $1 billion through the elimination of 104 DEI-related contracts. The canceled contracts were associated with USAID, the Department of Education, the FAA and the EPA, among others.

The elimination of these programs, which gained prominence after George Floyd’s death in 2020, sparked backlash as some argued that they were only meant to create equal opportunities.

On Tuesday, the Labor Department said it cut $400 million in spending through DOGE’s efforts to roll back DEI grants related to the American Rescue Plan Act. This was in addition to other cuts made to the Biden-era legislation, such as the creation of an “Office of the Unemployed Workers’ Advocate” and funding an “Equitable Access Director.”

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Elon Musk shows off his t-shirt reading “Tech Support” while speaking at the first cabinet meeting hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump, at the White House in Washington, DC, Feb. 26, 2025.  (REUTERS/Brian Snyder / Reuters)

Viral moments

Musk made several headlines during his tenure at DOGE. From his son, Æ A-12 — also known as “Lil X” — stealing the show in the Oval Office to a Tesla photo shoot with Trump at the White House and interviews with ‘Big Balls’ and the DOGE team, Musk has consistently been in the spotlight for months.

As Trump’s opponents routinely insisted that Musk was really running the show, the Tesla founder donned a “Tech Support” shirt during a cabinet meeting, insisting he was only part of the administration rather than its leader.

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Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller, Charles Creitz, Eric Revell, Emma Colton and Diana Stancy contributed to this report.