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President Donald Trump has told his inner circle, including members of his Cabinet, that Elon Musk will be stepping back in the coming weeks from his current role as governing partner, ubiquitous cheerleader and Washington hatchet man.

The president remains pleased with Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency initiative but both men have decided in recent days that it will soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a supporting role, according to three Trump insiders who were granted anonymity to describe the evolving relationship.

Musk's looming retreat comes as some Trump administration insiders and many outside allies have become frustrated with his unpredictability and increasingly view the billionaire as a political liability, a dynamic that was thrown into stark relief Tuesday when a conservative judge Musk vocally supported lost his bid for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat by 10 points.

It also represents a stark shift in the Trump-Musk relationship from a month ago, when White House officials and allies were predicting Musk was "here to stay" and that Trump would find a way to blow past the 130-day time limit.

One senior administration official said Musk is likely to retain an informal role as an adviser and continue to be an occasional face around the White House grounds. Another cautioned that anyone who thinks Musk is going to disappear entirely from Trump's orbit is "fooling themselves."
The transition, the insiders said, is likely to correspond to the end of Musk's time as a "special government employee," a special status that temporarily exempts him from some ethics and conflict-of-interest rules. That 130-day period is expected to expire in late May or early June.
Musk's defenders inside the administration believe that the time is right for a transition, given their view that there's only so much more he can cut from government agencies without shaving too close to the bone.

But many others say, he's an unpredictable, unmanageable force who has had issues communicating his plans with Cabinet secretaries and through the White House chain of command led by chief of staff Susie Wiles, frequently sending them into a frenzy with unexpected and off-message comments on X, his social-media platform including sharing unvetted and uncoordinated plans to gut federal agencies.

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I thought this was always the plan. They said a long time ago it was only gonna be temporary.

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Hoyt Ag said:

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Ive seen a few videos of him saying he was only around till end of May, something about 130 days was his limit given his role.

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What is a "special government employee"?

In 1962, Congress created the role of "special government employee," which allows the executive branch, the legislative branch and independent federal agencies to bring on employees for specific roles on a temporary basis.

Typically, SGEs are hired as experts or consultants or serve as members of federal advisory committees, of which there are roughly 1,000 across the U.S. government.

SGEs are limited to working for the government for no more than 130 days out of a 365-day period, though they can work multiple years, and they can either be paid or unpaid. NPR has reported that Musk is not being paid for his work with DOGE.

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It was a joint decision between the two men and Trump said he remains happy with Musk's work with the Department of Government Efficiency.

But Musk has become a controversial figure due to his slash and burn style of cutting down the federal government. He also just sank $20 million into Wisconsin's Supreme Court race only to have his Republican candidate lose.

And stock in Tesla has dropped sharply with sales down and sales lots are being set on fire.
The report Musk is going back to his business roots did send his company shares' soaring. He became a billionaire through his various corporate holdings.

Source: Daily Mail

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aggie93 said:

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When I want to know what Trump and Musk are thinking, Politico is definitely the best source.

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Yeah, fake news https://t.co/nPhTpZj3Fc

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2025

javajaws said:

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This really wouldn't surprise me. Musk does not have the personality to play the political games to stay there long term. And he kind of has a Tesla problem at the moment as well.

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TTUArmy said:

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I hope he stays longer...just to drive BSC libs and CM's heavily invested in TSLA to an early grave.

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