Roving Periscope: ‘Enlightened,’ Elon Musk quits Trumpistan!

Virendra Pandit

New Delhi: From the word go, they seemed a mismatch. One was intent on making Earth Great and making humans land on Mars in 2026, while the other was running backward to merely Make America Great Again.

In just four months, therefore, as his term ended, a disillusioned Elon Musk decided enough was enough and stepped down as Donald Trump’s advisor—but not before criticizing the US President’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”

His employer, Trump, may also have realized it was good riddance that the sidelined Musk quit; the President had, perhaps, appointed someone who could potentially replace him, and/or other routine politicians, in January 2029! Although Trump claims he won’t run for a third term, few believe him.

Musk, then the world’s wealthiest man, was the biggest donor to the Republican candidate in 2024. When Trump returned to the White House on January 20 for a second stint—and presumably the last as well!–he appointed the space entrepreneur to spearhead the newly-created and unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to clean it up of the excess baggage gathered over the decades by the spendthrift Democrats.

On Wednesday, Musk expressed disappointment over what Trump calls the “Big Beautiful Bill,” his flagship legislative agenda— a massive spending plan combining tax cuts and immigration enforcement, the media reported.

As the head of DOGE, Musk was tasked, as a top advisor to Trump, to spearhead efforts to reduce and overhaul the federal bureaucracy.

He posted Wednesday about his decision on X (formerly Twitter), his social media website.

“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” he wrote.

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

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 29, 2025

A White House official, who requested anonymity to talk about the change, confirmed that Musk was leaving.

Musk’s departure comes the day after he criticised the centrepiece of Trump’s legislative agenda, saying he was “disappointed” by what the President calls his “big beautiful bill”.

While speaking to CBS, Musk described it as a “massive spending bill” that increases the federal deficit and “undermines the work” of the DOGE.

“I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful. But I don’t know if it could be both,” Musk said.

His CBS interview aired on Tuesday night, the media reported.

Trump, speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday, defended his agenda by talking about the delicate politics involved with negotiating the legislation.

“I’m not happy about certain aspects of it, but I’m thrilled by other aspects of it,” he said.

Trump also suggested that more changes could be made.

“We’re going to see what happens. It’s got a way to go,” he said.

Republicans recently pushed the measure through the House and are debating it in the Senate.

Musk’s concerns are also shared by some Republican lawmakers.

“I sympathise with Elon being discouraged,” said Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson.

Speaking at a Milwaukee Press Club event on Wednesday, Johnson added that he was “pretty confident” there was enough opposition “to slow this process down until the President, our leadership, gets serious” about reducing spending. He said there was no amount of pressure Trump could put on him to change his position.

Speaker Mike Johnson has asked senators to make as few changes to the legislation as possible, saying that House Republicans reached a “very delicate balance” that could be upended with major changes.

The narrowly-divided House will have to vote again on final passage once the Senate alters the bill.

On Wednesday, Johnson thanked Musk for his work and promised to pursue more spending cuts in the future, saying “the House is eager and ready to act on DOGE’s findings.”

The White House is sending some proposed rescissions, a mechanism used to cancel previously authorised spending, to Capitol Hill to strengthen some of DOGE’s cuts.

A spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget said the package will include USD 1.1 billion from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS, and USD 8.3 billion in foreign assistance.

Musk’s criticism come as he steps back from his government work, rededicating himself to companies like the electric automaker Tesla and rocket manufacturer SpaceX.

He also said he’ll reduce his political spending, because “I think I’ve done enough.”

At times, he seemed chastened by his experience of working in the government. Although he hoped that DOGE would generate USD 1 trillion in spending cuts, he’s fallen far short of that target.

“The federal bureaucracy, the situation is much worse than I realised,” he told The Washington Post.

“I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in (Washington) DC, to say the least.”

Musk had previously been energised by the opportunity to reshape Washington. He wore campaign hats in the White House, held his own campaign rallies, and talked about excessive spending as an existential crisis.

He often tended to be effusive in his praise of Trump.

“The more I’ve gotten to know President Trump, the more I like the guy. Frankly, I love him,” Musk said in February.

Trump repaid the favour, describing Musk, an immigrant from South Africa, as “a truly great American.”

When Tesla faced declining sales, Trump even turned the White House driveway into a makeshift showroom to illustrate his support.

It’s unclear what, if any, impact Musk’s comments about the bill would have on the legislative debate.