--- title: "Trump Reportedly Looking to End Elon Musk’s Role in the Government" description: "According to Politico, Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will soon hang up his coat as his number one hatchet man." date: "2025-04-02" modified: "2025-04-02" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/trump-musk-government" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "donald trump" - "elon musk" - "the digest" - "white house" --- # Trump Reportedly Looking to End Elon Musk’s Role in the Government ![According to Politico, Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will soon hang up his coat as his number one hatchet man.]() *\Image: Brandon Bell/Getty Images\* ## 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]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()