Donald Trump tells cabinet Elon Musk will be stepping down from duties ‘soon’

Donald Trump is reported to have made the comments about Elon Musk’s future to his cabinet after weeks of simmering tensions between the Tesla billionaire and senior White House officials

Donald Trump has told members of his cabinet that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role ‘soon’, according to sources.

Musk has been heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) taskforce since Trump returned to the White House in January, where he has overseen huge cuts to budgets across multiple departments and sweeping layoffs of federal employees. But the new reports of his imminent departure follow several weeks of tensions between the Tesla billionaire and other top appointments to Trump’s White House team, including one meeting where he is said to have clashed with Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.

One senior official described Musk’s leadership style as “erratic and disruptive,” adding that his tendency to bypass government channels frequently left Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and other key figures furious. His unvetted plans to slash entire federal agencies reportedly created internal crises, with administration officials forced to walk back or clarify his comments.

Asked about the future of DOGE without Musk, Trump was noncommittal this week.
“Well, I can’t tell you that… I can say this: a lot of the people working with DOGE are the secretaries and heads of various agencies – and they’ve learned a lot,” he said.
“Some of them may try and keep the DOGE people with them. But, at a certain point, I think it will end.

According to three White House insiders speaking to Politico, Trump made it clear in private remarks that he was ‘pleased’ with Musk’s efforts so far – but told his team that the DOGE chief will be ‘stepping back’ from his position ‘in the coming weeks’. Trump’s aides are said to have become increasingly concerned about the billionaire’s unpredictability and have begun to see him as a political liability, the sources alleged.

He is likely to maintain close ties to the White House, as one of the insiders speaking on condition of anonymity claimed that anyone who thought he would be cast out entirely would be “fooling themselves”. Elon Musk spent around $277 million in support of the Republican president’s successful election campaign last year, having taken a more prominent role following the first unsuccessful assassination attempt on Trump last July.

But his company, Tesla, faces plummeting sales and tanking share prices. The electric car maker has been hit hard by consumer pushback against Musk, with buyers turning away amid controversies surrounding his leadership and outspoken political stances. Senior officials confirmed the billionaire and Donald Trump have mutually decided it is time for the entrepreneur to return his focus to business, shifting into a more peripheral advisory role rather than remaining a key player in governmentElon Musk is expected to return to carmaker Tesla, which has seen its share price plummet amid a consumer boycott

His departure follows growing frustration within the administration over his erratic behaviour and the political liabilities he has created for Trump’s Republicans.
Musk’s withdrawal comes on the heels of a costly defeat in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race on Tuesday, where he poured £16 million into the conservative judge Brad Schimel’s campaign, only to see liberal-backed Susan Crawford win by a landslide ten-point margin.

The result underscored the risks of his deepening political involvement and has fuelled concerns within the Trump camp that his continued presence in government could do more harm than good. A senior administration official confirmed that while Musk may continue to offer informal advice, he would leave in late May or early June.

It comes just hours before Donald Trump is expected to unveil huge tariffs on goods from across the world – raising fears of a trade war and a new global recession. Analysts believe he will impose border taxes of around 20-25% on practically all imported goods, estimated to hit UK exports to the tune of £22 billion. The president and his allies have branded April 2 ‘Liberation Day’ and claim the new tariffs will boost American jobs, but economists have predicted that they will instead send consumer prices soaring in the US and across the world.

It comes just hours before Donald Trump is expected to unveil huge tariffs on goods from across the world – raising fears of a trade war and a new global recession. Analysts believe he will impose border taxes of around 20-25% on practically all imported goods, estimated to hit UK exports to the tune of £22 billion. The president and his allies have branded April 2 ‘Liberation Day’ and claim the new tariffs will boost American jobs, but economists have predicted that they will instead send consumer prices soaring in the US and across the world.

It comes just hours before Donald Trump is expected to unveil huge tariffs on goods from across the world – raising fears of a trade war and a new global recession. Analysts believe he will impose border taxes of around 20-25% on practically all imported goods, estimated to hit UK exports to the tune of £22 billion. The president and his allies have branded April 2 ‘Liberation Day’ and claim the new tariffs will boost American jobs, but economists have predicted that they will instead send consumer prices soaring in the US and across the world.