Cartoon of the day: 30 May 2025

SA-born billionaire Elon Musk has ended his honeymoon with US President Donald Trump.

The businessman-turned-politician this week confirmed that he had stepped down from his role as a Special Government Employee in the Trump administration.

The former head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was appointed to cut government spending, but soon became a “whipping boy” for Trump critics.

Musk has previously admitted that he did not achieve all his goals with DOGE, even though tens of thousands of people were removed from government payrolls and several departments were gutted or shut down, noted AFP.

He had to leave

According to Al Jazeera, as a special government employee, Musk was only legally allowed to hold his position in government for 130 days in any 365-day period. He was also prohibited from using his role for monetary gain.

His departure was just a few days short of this limit.

As he walked out the door, he criticised the Trump administration’s new spending bill.

“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” Musk said in an interview with CBS News on Tuesday.

What next for Musk?

Since the start of the month, Musk has significantly reduced his time working in government to return to his businesses, including SpaceX, social media platform X, and Tesla.

He is now expected to focus all his attention on these.

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Thanks for the memories, Donnie

Taking to X on Thursday, Musk thanked Trump.

“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.

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

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