The White House is not committing on exactly how much longer Elon Musk will remain formally in the White House — a reality that reflects the fluid nature of his role as a special government employee, and ultimately the whims of President Donald Trump.
“No decision has been made,” a White House official said of Musk’s future or potential exit. The president, the official said, “supports the work that Musk has done.”
Under federal guidelines, a “special government employee” is someone who serves in the executive branch for no more than 130 days within a 365-day period — and is able to skirt ethics rules that apply to typical federal employees.
The White House official noted the relative abundance of time between now and May 30th, which would cap off 130 days from Trump’s — and Musk’s — first day in office.
Public comments from both Trump and Musk have suggested Musk’s work and time as a formal government employee is coming to a natural end. “At some point he’s going to be going back,” Trump said of Musk when talking to reporters at the White House on Monday. “At some point Elon’s going to want to go back to his company.”
The president made those comments before Republicans lost a state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin, an election Musk personally intervened in and spent millions on. Tuesday night’s loss has, in some ways, expedited the question of how politically helpful he is to Republicans.
In recent weeks, Republican members of Congress have been badgered over Musk at town halls, suggesting his drastic moves through DOGE have resonated with voters.
Some Republican senators came to Musk’s defense Wednesday. Sen. Ron Johnson told reporters Musk’s involvement in his state’s judicial election “was a net positive.” Asked if what happened Tuesday night discourages him about Musk’s role in tight races, Sen. Ted Cruz said “not remotely.”
“I’m sure that his shareholders and investors in his various companies are asking him when he’s going to come back,” Sen. John Kennedy told NOTUS of Musk on Wednesday, adding “I want to keep him for as long as we can.”
The White House has been cagey about putting a firm deadline on Musk’s employment, simply saying that he would leave when his work is done. That continued on Wednesday, after the White House slammed reports that Musk is heading to a faster-than-anticipated exit.
“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,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Twitter Wednesday afternoon, calling reports of a sudden or newly planned departure “garbage.”
“We have so much time,” the White House official told NOTUS. The official added that at the “appropriate time there will be a mutual understanding” that the work Musk was brought on to do is complete and he can return to the private sector.
The president and Musk have made similar comments suggesting they’re operating within the 130-day window. Last month, in an interview with Fox News, Musk said DOGE “will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame.”
DOGE has been a source of a lot of the negative headlines and controversy in the administration’s first two months, due to its lightning-fast pace of slashing government agencies. DOGE has deployed staffers across agencies who have then zeroed in on contracts and layoffs to achieve Trump’s stated goal of a smaller government footprint.
There are lingering questions about what happens to DOGE if Musk goes back to the private sector.
One senior GOP aide told NOTUS that even if Musk were to go away, DOGE wouldn’t.
“Elon started this, but this is going to keep going no matter what,” the aide said. “DOGE is one of the most popular issues with the Republican base and DOGE is popular overall. Only people it’s not popular with is government employees who collect a paycheck for doing nothing.”
Speaker Mike Johnson told NOTUS that while he can’t speak for the administration, “I suspect it’ll continue for a long time.”
“I know that there’s a large appetite among Republicans in Congress to continue this work. We’re excited, because what Elon and DOGE have been able to do is what we have always wanted to do, but didn’t have the ability.”
But just as Musk’s employment timing is fluid, so is the future of DOGE.
“Well, I can’t tell you that,” Trump replied when asked by reporters Monday about whether the organization could continue without Musk. “I can say this, that a lot of the people working with DOGE are the secretaries, the heads of the various agencies, and they’ve learned a lot. I think some of them may try and keep the DOGE people with them, but you know, at a certain point, I think it will end.”
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Jasmine Wright and Reese Gorman are reporters at NOTUS. Haley Byrd Wilt, Nuha Dolby and Tinashe Chingarande contributed reporting.