Elon Musk is under mounting pressure to step down from his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by May 30.
Why It Matters
As a special government employee, Musk is under a 130-day time limit in his current role as DOGE lead. Therefore, if the start date for Musk's position was the first day of President Donald Trump's administration, he would no longer be able to lead the department on May 30. He previously told Fox News he thinks DOGE will have accomplished its goal by that deadline.
What To Know
A group of 77 House Democrats, led by Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar, is launching a campaign to force Musk to resign from his role at DOGE by May 30 "for the good of the country."
In a letter, they insist Musk must give up decision-making authority and cannot return as a special government employee for a year unless he divests from companies like Tesla and SpaceX. The letter was first reported by Axios.
The letter also accuses Musk of causing significant harm to working Americans during his tenure, citing cuts to essential programs like Social Security and VA healthcare, as well as ethical violations.
"In his short time in government, Elon Musk has done enormous harm to working Americans. Musk's reckless destruction of government agencies has led to everything from seniors having challenges accessing Social Security to veterans losing access to care at VA hospitals," the letter reads.
Casar told Axios that this is just the beginning of a broader campaign, warning that legal, political, and public pressure on Republicans will intensify. He added that Democrats "have legal tools at our disposal, political tools at our disposal," as well as the "full force of public pressure."
Musk has been under mounting pressure to scale back his responsibilities in government after sales at his company Tesla fell 13 percent in the first quarter of 2025—its worst performance in nearly three years.
The billionaire is also facing calls to wind down DOGE following the defeat of a Trump-backed judicial candidate, Brad Schimel, in Wisconsin last week. Musk, who had heavily funded and promoted the campaign, is being blamed by some political analysts and GOP strategists, who cite his polarizing public image as a major factor contributing to the loss.
"It was clear that his efforts to take a chainsaw to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are deeply unpopular with the majority of voters," Democratic strategist Doug Gordon previously told Newsweek.
A recent poll conducted by the Harvard Center for American Political Studies and Harris, which surveyed 2,746 registered voters between March 26 and 27, found that 49 percent view Musk unfavorably, compared to just 39 percent who view him favorably.
Musk has not said whether he will step down from his role. He previously told Fox News that he thinks DOGE will have accomplished its goal of reducing the deficit by $1 trillion by May 30. The department has saved $105 billion so far, according to the DOGE website.
But it is possible that the White House may end up pointing to an Office of Government Ethics memo last year—during Joe Biden's administration—that said unpaid travel days do not count towards the 130 days as a way of keeping Musk on beyond May 30.
Trump previously told reporters onboard Air Force One that he wants Musk to stay on "for as long as possible," praising the billionaire as "fantastic and a patriot," adding, "I like smart people and he's a smart person. I also like him personally."
But he also noted that Musk would eventually return to focus on his businesses.
His remarks followed a Politico report claiming Trump had informed close aides that Musk would soon step down from DOGE. According to the report, "the president remains pleased with Musk," but both had agreed it was nearly time for him to shift into a supporting role.
The White House denied the report, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling it "garbage" and affirming that Musk will step down only once his work at DOGE is finished. Musk also dismissed the report as "fake news."
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance said Musk would remain as an adviser to the Trump administration after his tenure at DOGE ends.
"DOGE has got a lot of work to do, and yeah, that work is going to continue after Elon leaves, but fundamentally, Elon is going to remain a friend and an adviser of both me and the president," he said.
Behind the scenes, however, tensions are reportedly mounting. Cabinet officials have grown increasingly frustrated with Musk's sweeping efforts to downsize the federal government. In March, a contentious meeting involving Trump, Musk, and several Cabinet members reportedly featured a heated exchange between Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio—though Trump later dismissed the report.
Pressure has also come from Republican lawmakers, who in March urged Musk to route DOGE's budget cuts through Congress following legal challenges and widespread public backlash. With mounting criticism and internal concerns, some officials have reportedly begun to view Musk as a "political liability," according to anonymous sources speaking to Politico.
In recent days, Musk has appeared to split with the president over his new program of tariffs.
Musk, whose businesses rely heavily on international supply chains affected by the tariffs, has called for a zero-tariff situation between the U.S. and Europe, which Trump has rejected.
"This has certainly been my advice to the president," Musk said during a remote appearance at a political congress hosted by Italy's League Party on April 5. "I hope it's agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally, in my view, to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free-trade zone between Europe and North America."
What People Are Saying
House Democrats wrote in a letter to President Donald Trump: "We write to make clear that you must remove Elon Musk from his government position by May 30th and to demand that you stop ignoring federal law and ethics rules to empower an unelected billionaire."
Representative Greg Casar told Axios: "We're making it very clear that the public pressure is only going to ramp up on Republicans between here and May 30."
Elon Musk said in a recent Fox News interview: "I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by $1 trillion within that time frame."
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said: "Elon has been instrumental in executing the president's agenda and will continue this good work until the president says otherwise."
One administration official told Politico: "Anyone who thinks Musk is going to disappear entirely from Trump's orbit is fooling themselves."
What Happens Next
Despite Musk's 130-day cap, DOGE is expected to continue until 2026, as a result of a Trump executive order.
