Is it all falling apart?
Political Liability
Now that he’s done irreparable damage to the federal government, billionaire Elon Musk is reportedly stepping back in the coming weeks as the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
As Politico reports, president Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Musk will soon hang up his coat as his number one hatchet man.
If confirmed, it’d be a huge inflection point in Musk’s arc — and unmiskable evidence that his unpredictable and extremely unpopular bull-in-the-china-shop approach to slashing government funding has become a political liability for the president.
Breaking Point
It’s been a bad week for the billionaire. Musk threw $25 million behind judge Brad Schimel, who ran against liberal candidate judge Susan Crawford during a pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court election on Tuesday. Crawford beat Schimel handily.
Tesla investors have also accused Musk of abandoning his carmaker in favor of focusing all of his time on gutting the government’s budget with DOGE.
Oddly enough, the EV maker’s shares rose almost five percent today after the company posted catastrophic quarterly results, with longtime investors calling for his resignation — a reaction, perhaps, to the news that Musk’s tenure in the government could be ending.
The relationship between Trump and Musk has been under heavy scrutiny for quite some time now. Now that Trump is rumored to be looking to kick the mercurial CEO out of the White House, that relationship could really be tested.
Did Musk assume too much influence from within the White House? Is Musk simply bored of the plundering and growing concerned about his ailing businesses?
Pundits have long argued that Musk could be acting as the real “shadow president” behind the scenes, with his most recent attempt to sway the Wisconsin Supreme Court election demonstrating considerable political influence — despite his candidate losing in the end.
According to Politico, Trump told attendees of a March 24 cabinet meeting that Musk would be leaving the administration. However, when or if Musk will actually depart remains unclear.
“As the President said, this White House would love to keep Elon around for as long as possible,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told Politico. “Elon has been instrumental in executing the President’s agenda, and will continue this good work until the President says otherwise.”
More on Musk: Tesla Just Got Some Absolutely Horrible News
Share This Article