Democrats have long called for Elon Musk‘s departure from President Donald Trump‘s administration, but Musk saying goodbye to Washington means the party is also bidding farewell to their bogeyman.
Musk’s 130 days as a special government employee, a designation provided to the technology billionaire to protect him from having to publicly disclose his conflict of interests, have come to an end with a mixed record.
His Department of Government Efficiency‘s aim to reduce federal government “waste, fraud, and abuse,” has been celebrated by Trump and his allies, it has, at times, also created political headaches, even images, that Democrats have tried to politically exploit.
Those images include Musk responding to questions from reporters in the White House‘s Oval Office while one of his sons, Lil X, picked his nose, him posing with the “Chainsaw for Bureaucracy” at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, and disputed complaints he demonstrated a Nazi salute at Trump’s pre-inauguration rally at Capital One Arena.
Musk embarked on his DOGE project last year, promising during Trump’s Madison Square Garden campaign rally to cut the federal budget by $2 trillion before downgrading that pledge to $1 trillion during the president’s transition. As of Friday, DOGE, formerly known as the U.S. Digital Service, had only self-reported finding $160 billion in savings, though past discrepancies with the department’s reports have undermined trust in them.
That figure also excludes the likely cost of the cuts regarding, for instance, DOGE-related litigation, particularly if backpay is awarded to the tens of thousands of government employees and contracts affected by its reforms, some of whom have been rehired or re-contracted.
At the same time, Musk, adopting his move fast and destroy things approach from his technology start-ups, including moving temporary beds into DOGE’s office space at the General Services Administration, has upended government processes and information-sharing, in addition to tearing down agencies writ-large. Those include the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Education, and the Institute of Peace.
Departments, which earlier in Trump’s administration pushed back against Musk’s “five things” emails, are continuing to publish their reduction-in-force proposals as DOGE representatives, many of them in their twenties, are scheduled to remain embedded in them until next July.
Regardless of his results, there have been personal and financial repercussions for Musk over his decision to spend almost $300 million on Trump’s 2024 campaign and become part of his administration as he departs on Friday with top aides, including deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller‘s wife Katie.
For one, Musk was one of the most unpopular people in Trump’s second administration before his departure. Pollster Nate Silver’s aggregation of polls found Musk had an average 39% approval-54% disapproval rating. For comparison, RealClearPolitics‘s counterpart for Trump has the president with an average 48% approval-50% disapproval rating.
Secondly, Musk’s business interests have both benefited and been disadvantaged. For example, Tesla shares increased in value after Trump’s election last year before decreasing drastically early in the president’s administration amid boycotts and vandalism. That prompted the president to host a roadshow on the White House’s South Lawn in March.
Musk has also promoted his Starlink technology during Trump’s administration, as his other companies, including SpaceX, applied for government contracts and he attempted to undercut competitors. That includes arch-nemesis OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who announced an artificial intelligence deal with the president this month during his trip to the United Arab Emirates.
“DOGE’s over-promising and underperforming results damaged not only Musk’s reputation but also the standing of the Trump administration as a whole, and beyond that, probably the reputations and chances for success of future governmental reform cost-cutting measures,” presidential historian David Pietrusza told the Washington Examiner.
Democrats have sought to leverage Musk’s unpopularity to their advantage, especially after Musk failed to elect conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel in March. That is despite Musk spending $3 million on the race and making a personal appearance in the state, complete with a cheesehead hat.
“Musk has left such an overwhelming negative impression on the public, the impacts on people of his vandalism against the federal government will long survive his departure,” Democratic strategist Garry South told the Washington Examiner.
But South dismissed the possibility of Democrats’ identity and messaging problems after last year’s election being exacerbated by Musk’s departure and his absence as a bogeyman.
“Because he’s so full of himself, loves the sound of his own voice, he’ll continue to mouth off on myriad subjects through X and other communication modes,” South said. “He may be gone from the White House, but he’s not joining a monastery to live a life of quiet contemplation. He’ll be the gift that keeps on giving for Democrats.”
The Democratic National Committee, for its part, marked Musk’s departure before Trump held a goodbye press event for him in the Oval Office with a reminder about Musk’s record, describing him as Trump’s “shadow president.”
“It was clear to the American people that something was seriously off with Elon Musk from the moment he stepped foot into the White House — and yet Donald Trump gave him access to Americans’ Social Security data,” DNC chair Ken Martin wrote in a statement. “This afternoon, Trump will stand side-by-side with the man who tried to dismantle Social Security, gave an inept group of kids access to our private data, and was apparently on a drug-fueled bender while he looted the government.”
Martin added: “Trump should be launching an investigation into Musk, not throwing a goodbye party.”
To that end, Democrats are considering investigating Musk should they take control of the House or Senate after next year’s midterm elections, even as the party disagrees over how to proceed post-former President Joe Biden.
Another historian, David Greenberg, contended Musk was a distraction for Democrats as he was acting on Trump’s agenda and that Musk’s legacy depended on whether DOGE withstands court challenges and Congress’s budget procedure.
“Musk was never a very wise bogeyman for the Democrats, because their real argument was with his actions, not with him personally, and, again, the actions are being done on behalf of the president,” Greenberg told the Washington Examiner. “If the DOGE effort ends up yielding little, then in the scheme of things, Musk’s administration role won’t be seen as highly significant.”
With respect to Musk being a bogeyman, Democrats may be pleased by Trump telling reporters during Musk’s goodbye press conference on Friday that he could extend the DOGE project beyond its July 2026 deadline.
The White House also confirmed this week it would send a $9.4 billion rescissions package to the House next week to make official DOGE cuts to funding appropriated by Congress, mostly money for NPR, PBS, and the USAID.
“Today, it’s about a man named Elon,” Trump said Friday from behind the Resolute Desk. “He’s one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced. He stepped forward to put his very great talents to the service of our nation and we appreciate it.”
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When asked Friday if his time with Trump’s administration was worth it, Musk replied that DOGE is “an important thing,” “a necessary thing, and “will have a good effect on the future.”
“I expect to remain a friend and an adviser, and certainly, if there’s anything the president wants me to do, I’m at the president’s service,” he said.