Trump says Elon Musk to depart from DOGE. But JD Vance's remarks hint at something different

Tech billionaire and US President Donald Trump's close ally Elon Musk stint with the government may probably end soon. The world’s richest person’s government service hitting its legal limit in the coming weeks, meaning Musk will reportedly step down as Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief by the end of May.

“He’s got a big company to run … at some point he’s going to be going back,” Donald Trump told reporters on Monday. “I’d keep him as long as I could keep him,” the president added.

Amid this, US Vice President JD Vance said Musk will continue to be a "friend and adviser" to the Trump administration- even after his stint at DOGE is up.


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JD Vance on Musk's departure

Billionaire Elon Musk will remain a friend and adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, even after he leaves his role with the Department of Government Efficiency, Vance said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday. The billionaire, who is DOGE’s lodestar, is expected to step back at the end of next month given his tenure with the admin was only ever meant to be temporary.

Politico and ABC reported Wednesday that Trump had told members of his Cabinet that Musk will soon depart and return to the private sector, although it was not clear if Musk would leave before his 130-day mandate as a special government employee expires around late May.

“Of course, he’s going to continue to be an adviser,” Vance told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” following reports in lefty media outlets that Musk was stepping down. “Fundamentally, Elon is going to remain a friend and an adviser of both me and the president — and he’s done a lot of good things.”

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“Elon came in, and we said, ‘We need you to make government more efficient, we need you to shrink the incredible fat bureaucracy that thwarts the will of the American people but also costs way too much money,'” the veep continued. “We said, ‘That’s going to take about six months’ — and that’s what Elon signed up for.”

"DOGE has got a lot of work to do, and yeah, that work is going to continue after Elon leaves. But fundamentally, Elon is going to remain a friend and an adviser of both me and the president," he said.

Why is Elon Musk quitting DOGE?

Elon Musk is a special government employee and faces a strict 130-day cap on his service – probably expiring in late May if counted from the day of inauguration. Administration insiders told Politico on Wednesday that Musk would indeed be stepping down from his lead role in the weeks to come.

On Wednesday, Trump told the Cabinet and his inner circle that his billionaire ally and 'first buddy' Elon Musk will soon step back from his government role, Politico reported citing three people close to Trump. The report states both Trump and Musk decided in recent days that Musk will soon return to his businesses, but gave no specific date.

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Trump and Musk have both recently indicated that Musk would move on but have not said when. Based on a 130-day term, Musk's time as a special government employee would be set to end as soon as the end of May. He told Fox News last week that he was confident he would finish most of the work to cut $1 trillion in federal spending.

Elon Musk is what's known as a "special government employee," a designation given to people who join the government for a short period of time typically to provide specialized expertise. The Congress in 1962 created the role of "special government employee", which permits the executive branch, the legislative branch and independent federal agencies to bring on employees for specific roles on a temporary basis.

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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. According to a report in NPR, Musk is not being paid for his work with DOGE.

Special government employees must follow most of the same rules and guidelines as full-time employees, but with fewer restrictions in some areas, such as conflicts of interest, due to the temporary nature of their role. However, they are still prohibited from engaging in matters that could create financial conflicts of interest or impact a company they are affiliated with. Additionally, they are not allowed to use their position to influence an election while on duty.