Tech tycoon  Musk leaves Trump admin

KABUL (Pajhwok): Elon Musk says he is quitting the Trump administration after helping spearhead a campaign to downsize the US government, says a media report.

The BBC reported the world’s richest man thanked Trump for affording him the opportunity to help run the Department of Government Efficiency, known as Doge..

It added the White House started “offboarding” Musk as a special government employee on Wednesday night.

Musk’s exit — not unexpected — comes a day after he hit out at the legislative centrepiece of President Trump’s agenda.

Musk wrote on X: “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.”

He went on: “The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”

Designated as a special government employee, the South African-born tech tycoon was allowed to work a federal job for 130 days each year.

On Tuesday, Musk voiced his disappointment with Trump’s budget bill, which proposes multi-trillion dollar tax breaks and a defence spending hike.

He told CBS the “big, beautiful bill”, as Trump calls it, would raise the federal deficit. He believed it “undermines the work” of Doge.

According to CNN, Trump on Wednesday brushed off Musk’s comments that the bill did not contain enough cuts, saying he expected more changes to the legislation as it goes through the Senate.

Under Musk’s leadership over the first four months of the current administration, Doge has laid off or targeted for layoffs 121,000 federal workers. Thousands more accepted buyout offers.

PAN Monitor/mud