Elon Musk, the tech mogul, could be on his way out of the Trump administration as a cohort of lawmakers calls for his dismissal. It comes as the controversial South African billionaire took to Twitter to whine about the a poll showing how unpopular he is.
A contingent of 77 Democratic lawmakers has urged the White House to set a May 30 deadline for Musk - who officials surrounding President Trump have raised alarm over amid claims he is 'high' - to wrap up his involvement with the administration. Musk's roles have been described in varying terms as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisor to President Donald Trump, and a "special government employee."
Should Musk, whose relationship with Trump appears to have taken a dive after the US President claimed he 'doesn't need him, be classified as the latter, federal regulations limit the tenure of special government employees to a maximum of 130 days. The legislators, spearheaded by Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), delineated in their missive to the president that Musk has leveraged his "special government employee" status to boost his own wealth, all while chopping billions from the national budget and affecting essential services. It comes after it was revealed that Musk has been given a brutal three-word nickname around the White House.
A letter delivered on Wednesday and revealed by Axios read: "In his short time in government, Elon Musk has done enormous harm to working Americans," asserting, "Musk's reckless destruction of government agencies has led to everything from seniors having challenges accessing Social Security to veterans losing access to care at VA hospitals."
The document also throws light on possible conflicts of interest concerning the hefty federal contracts secured by Musk's SpaceX. The members of Congress expressed their demand crisply: "We demand that you stop ignoring federal law and ethics rules to empower an unelected billionaire."
The White House, after much dodging in February, has finally spilled the beans on Elon Musk's position in the federal government. They've acknowledged Musk is dubbed a "special government employee," which they say excuses him from the usual full disclosure rules for federal workers, reports the Express US.
Adding to this revelation, turns out Amy Gleason, under the radar for most, is actually at the helm of U.S. DOGE Service agency.
Speculation about Musk waving goodbye to his role bubbled up recently with Trump seemingly nudging towards this outcome. Swatting away these rumors, the White House chimed in but kept it vague when firing back.
"Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete," declared Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on X.
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Musk himself seems sure he'll tie up his DOGE commitments by end of May. Chatting with Bret Baier on Fox News last month, he aired confidence that their goals to slash the deficit by a cool trillion bucks should hit the mark within said period.
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