The White House has pushed back against claims that Elon Musk is stepping down from his role as a special government employee in the coming weeks. The clarification follows a Politico report by journalist Rachael Bade, which stated that President Donald Trump had informed his inner circle and some Cabinet members that Musk would soon return to running his businesses and would take on a supporting role.

The Oval Office asserted that Musk would continue to serve until his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was completed.

“This ‘scoop’ is garbage,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. 

She reiterated that Musk would step down only once his DOGE-related responsibilities were fulfilled. “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,” she added. 

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Musk, who is bound by a 130-day service cap, himself labelled the report as “fake news”. He expects most of his work to be completed within that time frame.

“I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by $1 trillion within that time frame,” Musk told Fox News’s Bret Baier. 

However, in a separate interview with Fox Business Network’s Larry Kudlow, Musk suggested he might extend his service for another year.

Meanwhile, DOGE continues its mission to cut government spending. “Agencies cancelled 47 wasteful contracts today with $87.5M ceiling value and $30.2M in savings, including a $3.4M Department of State management consulting contract for ‘aviation advisors in Kenya’,” DOGE said under the latest work tab.

It also said that “$13M in taxpayer dollars has been returned to the Treasury”. DOGE estimates it has saved US taxpayers $140 billion so far, though it remains short of Musk’s $1 trillion target. The agency’s mandate is set to run until July 4, 2026.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO is slashing government funding and reshaping the federal bureaucracy through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), for which he has been facing criticism from the public. While some critics have plastered anti-Musk stickers on their cars, others have vandalised multiple Tesla dealerships in protest.

Earlier, Trump hinted at Musk leaving the department of DOGE soon. He told reporters, “…At some point, Elon’s gonna want to go back to his company. He wants to. I’d keep him as long as I could keep him.”

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White House spokesperson Harrison Fields had said, “As the President said, this White House would love to keep Elon around for as long as possible. Elon has been instrumental in executing the President’s agenda and will continue this good work until the President says otherwise.”