White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that President Donald Trump and his Cabinet will fill the leadership void at the Department of Government Efficiency now that Elon Musk’s tenure as a special government employee is ending.
Musk announced Wednesday he is leaving his role as a top adviser to Trump after leading the president’s effort to streamline the federal government by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse.
“The DOGE leaders are each and every member of the president’s Cabinet and the president himself, who is wholeheartedly committed to cutting waste, fraud and abuse from our government,” Leavitt told reporters at a briefing that aired live on Newsmax and the Newsmax2 free online streaming platform.
“I spoke to the president about it this morning,” she said. “And the entire Cabinet understands the need to cut government waste, fraud and abuse, and each Cabinet secretary at their respective agencies is committed to that. That’s why they were working hand in hand with Elon Musk. And they’ll continue to work with the respective DOGE employees who have onboarded as political appointees at all of these agencies.
“So surely, the mission of DOGE will continue, and DOGE employees are now political appointees and employees of our government. And the best of my knowledge, all of them intend to stay and continue this important work.”
Musk criticized the centerpiece of Trump’s legislative agenda, saying he was “disappointed” by the reconciliation budget package dubbed the “one big, beautiful bill.” The legislation includes a mix of tax cuts and enhanced immigration enforcement. Musk described it as a “massive spending bill” that increases the federal deficit and “undermines the work” of DOGE.
“The president is very proud of the one big, beautiful bill, and he wants to see it pass,” Leavitt said. “He wants the Senate to get to work on it and send it to his desk as quickly as possible. Of course, as you know, Elon Musk announced last night his departure as an official special government employee from the Trump administration. We thank him for his service. We thank him for getting DOGE off of the ground and the efforts to cut waste, fraud and abuse will continue.”
Leavitt was then asked if Trump had any comment specifically related to Musk’s criticism that it adds to the federal deficit. The reporter said Trump was asked directly about Musk but only discussed the need to support passing the bill, which is now being considered by the Republican-controlled Senate.
“The president commented on this,” Leavitt said. “I commented on it. I told you that this bill saves $1.6 trillion according to the Council of Economic Advisors in the analysis that the president believes in. So, he gave a comment. I gave a comment. Just because you don’t like that comment doesn’t mean it’s not a comment.”