Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News
President Donald Trump has reportedly told members of cabinet that Elon Musk will be stepping back from his role in government 'soon'.
According to White House sources speaking to Politico, the head of DOGE will be 'stepping back in the coming weeks' despite the president being 'pleased' with Musk's work.
It's reported that Musk will take on 'a supporting role' instead, as he returns to his existing businesses.
Trump called in the tech CEO to front his newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
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Musk has been tasked with reducing federal spending as part of his job and has been busy making a number of cuts since January.
Under some of the changes made, a number of federal workers have lost their jobs, leading to protests and uproar among employees.
It's caused some tension, with plaintiffs challenging the dismissal of some federal workers.
One recent court filing explained: "Like other senior White House advisors, Mr Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself."
The White House, meanwhile, has said that Musk is a 'Special Government Employee' serving on a temporary basis.
It's also reported that Musk has not been receiving a pay cheque for the position.
Earlier this year, The White House set the record straight on exactly what role Musk has and what his powers are.
The White House confirmed that Musk is not actually an employee of DOGE and is, in fact, an Oval Office employee and senior adviser to the president.
"Elon Musk, just like everybody else across the federal government, works at the direction of President Trump," said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Trump has previously praised Musk for his work, explaining in a speech: "I have created the brand new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, perhaps you've heard of it. Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight.
"Thank you, Elon. He’s working very hard. He didn’t need this. He didn’t need this. Thank you very much, we appreciate it. Everybody here — even this side appreciates it, I believe. They just don’t want to admit that. Just listen to some of the appalling waste we have already identified."
Trump went on to list some of the areas the government had been spending in, before adding: "Under the Trump administration, all of these scams — and there are far worse — but I didn’t think it was appropriate to talk about them. They’re so bad. Many more have been found out and exposed and swiftly terminated by a group of very intelligent, mostly young people headed up by Elon, and we appreciate it. We found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud.
"And we’ve taken back the money and reduced our debt to fight inflation and other things — taken back a lot of that money. We got it just in time. This is just the beginning."
Tyla has reached out to the White House and Musk for comment.
