Vice President JD Vance confirmed on Thursday that Elon Musk will continue to serve as a “friend and an adviser” to both him and President Donald Trump, even after stepping down from his role with the “Department of Government Efficiency” (Dodge).
Recent reports from multiple news outlets, including Politico, suggested that Trump had informed his cabinet members that Musk, who holds the position of “special government employee,” would be transitioning out of his official role within the administration and returning to the private sector. However, Musk himself dismissed the reports as “fake news.”
White House refutes claims of Musk’s departure
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized the reports, calling them “garbage” and clarifying that Musk “will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at Doge is complete.”
Musk’s current position as a special government employee is legally capped at 130 days, which, based on the inauguration date, is set to expire in late May. However, Doge is expected to continue operations until 2026, following an executive order signed by Trump.
JD Vance affirms Musk’s continued influence
During a Thursday morning interview with Fox News, Vance reinforced Musk’s ongoing advisory role despite his expected departure.
“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,” Vance stated.
“Elon came in and we said, ‘We need you to make government more efficient; we need you to shrink the incredible fat bureaucracy that thwarts the will of the American people but also costs way too much money.’ We said, ‘That’s going to take about six months’—and – and that’s what Elon signed up for. But of course, he’s going to continue to be an adviser, and by the way, the work of Doge is not even close to done, the work of Elon is not even close to done.”
Political implications of Musk’s involvement
The discussion over Musk’s role in the Trump administration comes amid political turbulence, including his involvement in Wisconsin’s recent Supreme Court election. Earlier this week, a liberal judge, Susan Crawford, defeated a Musk-backed conservative judge in a race framed by Democrats as a referendum on Musk and Trump’s influence.
Musk invested millions in what became the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, personally campaigning in the state and making large financial contributions. Following her victory, Crawford remarked, “I never could have imagined that I’d be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin, and we won!”