Elon Musk Steps Down from Trump Administration Amid Rift Over Spending Bill

By Staff, Agencies

Elon Musk announced Wednesday that he is stepping down from his role as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump, citing disagreements over government spending.

“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” Musk stated on X. He added, “The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”

Musk had been appointed by Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE] on the first day of Trump’s second term, tasked with eliminating bureaucratic waste. Under Musk’s leadership, the department implemented sweeping job cuts and dismantled agencies like the US Agency for International Development [USAID]. The team’s unorthodox tactics, including accessing sensitive data without proper oversight, have drawn widespread criticism.

A White House official confirmed Musk’s departure to Anadolu Agency.

The billionaire’s resignation appears tied to his opposition to Trump’s latest spending and tax cut legislation, which Musk warned would worsen the federal deficit. In a CBS interview aired Sunday, Musk expressed his dismay: “I was, like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.”

Despite internal criticism, Trump successfully pushed the bill through the House of Representatives by a narrow 215–214 vote. The bill now heads to the Senate, where opposition from Democrats is expected, and several key Republicans have voiced concern over its fiscal implications.

Senator Rand Paul, one of the Republican holdouts, told Fox News that he remains skeptical: “I think the cuts currently in the bill are wimpy and anemic, but I still would support the bill even with wimpy and anemic cuts if they weren’t going to explode the debt.” He also criticized the bill’s proposed $4 trillion increase to the debt limit, arguing “the math doesn’t add up.”

Musk’s exit marks another high-profile departure from the Trump administration, as tensions over fiscal policy and internal priorities continue to grow — particularly while Trump remains embroiled in multiple foreign policy crises, including escalating military operations involving “Israel.”