By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-04-02 21:25:42 | Updated at 2025-04-03 18:48:41
21 hours ago
Republicans are unsure of DOGE leader Elon Musk's fate as a White House staffer after a bombshell report indicated that the world's richest man may soon step down from his post.
President Donald Trump informed his Cabinet and senior staff that the billionaire would be stepping back from his high-visibility role atop the government reform group.
Soon the Tesla CEO will return to the business world, Politico first reported.
Despite Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt calling the report 'garbage' and noting that the plan was always for Elon to 'depart from public service' after his 'incredible work at DOGE is complete,' GOP lawmakers were seemingly confused by the news.
‘Yeah, I don't know that he's going to leave totally,' House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., told DailyMail.com.
'I've heard mixed on this so, and I haven't heard anything from the horse's mouth, so to speak.'
The Republican shared that there may be special rules dictating how long Musk can stay with the administration.
'I've heard everything from as a special appointee to the president, you're only allowed to stay X number of days,' she said before adding 'I'm just giving you speculation.'
President Donald Trump reportedly told his Cabinet this week that DOGE leader Elon Musk will soon step away from the administration
The White House was quick to condemn the reporting from Politico, calling it 'garbage'
Musk has been by the Republican's side since the 2024 campaign. Musk reportedly spent $300 million to get Trump elected
Musk is considered a 'special government employee' (SGE), a classification that comes with restrictive work terms.
Under the arrangement, SGE's are expected not to serve over 130 days.
The DOGE leader's term is expected to be up on May 30, though the White House may take steps to keep the billionaire on staff longer.
'I think it was Musk who even said he was here on the front end [that he] wasn't going to be here for a long time,' Sen. Tom Tillis, R-N.C., told DailyMail.com.
'I don't think anybody thought he'd be here for four years.'
'I think that there's always a place for people pushing change, but at the end of the day, you have to institutionalize these efficiency measures in the agencies themselves,' the Republican continued.
Musk also responded to the Politico report calling it 'fake news.'
Still, the prospect that the Tesla CEO would return to his electric car company to steady the organization rocked with protests and a flailing stock price enthused investors.
Republican lawmakers told DailyMail.com that Musk was always supposed to walk away from DOGE after a period of time
Trump hosted an event for Tesla at the White House in March
After the report surfaced Tesla stock jumped over five percent.
Tesla has recently been rocked with protests, vandalism and violence related to Musk's actions at DOGE.
The billionaire's departure from the Trump administration may be a positive development for the Republican White House.
Musk has become unpopular because of DOGE's sweeping efforts to cut government spending, mainly due to his directives cutting tens of thousands of federal jobs.
On Tuesday the SpaceX boss was dealt another blow when Republican candidate for Wisconsin's Supreme Court, Brad Schimel, lost to Democrat Susan Crawford.
The DOGE leader spent over $20 million dollars on the race, though his preferred candidate lost by 10 points.
