Kathmandu. Elon Musk’s turbulent 129-day term in the Trump administration has come to an end. During this time, the world’s richest man cut government spending. Which also led to a lot of controversy.
South African-born billionaire Elon Musk took to his social media platform X earlier this week to thank President Donald Trump for his tenure at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Trump held a press conference to bid him farewell. Trump wrote, “This will be his last day. In fact, it won’t be the last day because he will always be with us. ’
Musk’s tenure in the Trump administration lasted less than four months. But his style of working in government departments created unrest in the U.S. government. Its impact was seen all over the world from Washington’s corridors of power.
Series of cuts via DOGE
Musk accepted a job at the Trump White House with the same purpose: to reduce government spending as much as possible. He started with a goal of ‘at least $2 trillion’. After june, it finally increased to $ 150 billion. THE DOGE claims to have saved $175 billion so far through asset sales, cancellation of leases and grants, “fraud and reduction in unfair payments”, regulatory savings, and a cut of 260,000 employees from the central workforce of 2.03 million. However, an analysis of the data by the BBC found that there was a lack of evidence for this claim.
This mission has often led to controversy. This includes examples of federal judges stopping mass dismissals and ordering the reinstatement of employees. The administration was also forced to withdraw from the cuts in other cases. In a remarkable development in February, the National Nuclear Security Administration halted the cut of hundreds of federal staff. Some of them held sensitive positions tasked with ensuring the safety of U.S. nuclear weapons.
Musk himself has repeatedly said that mass cuts will inevitably make a mistake. In February, the DOGE cut aid in an area of Mozambique after making mistakes for Hamas-controlled Gaza. “We will make mistakes, but we will take immediate action to correct any mistakes,” he said. ’
DOGE’s efforts to access the data have also generated controversy. In particular, there is data from the sensitive Treasury Department that handles the personal information of millions of Americans. Surveys show that government spending cuts are popular among Americans, but Musk’s popularity has declined.
Blurred line between business and politics{
Elon Musk’s presence in Trump’s White House has surprised people and raised questions about a potential conflict of interest. Musk is an unelected “special government employee” and the U.S. government is a client of his companies. His business empire includes many large companies doing business with U.S. and foreign governments. According to the company’s chief executive, SpaceX has a $22 billion contract with the US government. Some Democrats have also accused Musk of taking advantage of his position to increase business abroad for his satellite internet service company Starlink.
In March, the White House was accused of helping Musk’s business by displaying vehicles manufactured by musk’s troubled car company Tesla on the white house’s lan. Both Musk and Trump have rejected suggestions that their work with the government is contradictory or morally problematic.
Is this a step to promote separatism?
Musk’s work with DOGE gained global attention after the department removed more than 80 percent of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) programs and incorporated the rest into the State Department after a six-week review. The cuts in Musk and THE DOGE were part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to align spending abroad with the ‘America First’ approach.
U.S. aid cuts quickly began to affect famine detection, vaccination, and food aid projects in conflict zones. These included community kitchens in war-torn Sudan, scholarships for young Afghan women fleeing the Taliban, and clinics for transgenders in India.
U.S. aid was seen as a key tool of U.S. “soft power” around the world. As a result, some critics called the shutdowns a sign of america’s declining influence on the global stage.
Misinformation and conspiracy
Musk and Trump have been accused for years by opponents of spreading baseless conspiracy theories. But Musk’s presence in the White House highlights how misinformation has spread to the highest levels of the U.S. government. Musk, for example, spread baseless internet rumors that American gold was being stolen from Fort Knox, Kentucky. The stores were quietly stolen.
At one point, Musk also suggested traveling there and broadcasting the trip live to ensure the safety of gold. Recently, Musk spread widespread baseless rumors that white Africans in South Africa are facing a ‘genocide’-like situation. Rumors reached the Oval Office in early May. During a meeting to reduce tensions between the United States and South Africa, Trump presented videos and articles to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, saying they were evidence of crimes against Africans.
Split seen in the Trump camp
Despite his public commitment to work, Musk’s work also revealed that there is tension within the Trump 2.0 administration. Trump has publicly reiterated his support for the work of Musk and THE DOGE. During Musk’s tenure, there were also reports of tensions between him and cabinet members who believe the DOGE cuts are harming their agencies. Trump admitted at a Cabinet meeting in February that he “has a lot of respect for Alan and the work he’s doing and there are some people who disagree.” If they don’t, I want them to speak up. ’
When asked if any cabinet members disagreed with Musk, he turned around and asked everyone in the room, but no one said anything. The announcement of Musk’s departure came on the same day the BBC affiliate CBS in the US released excerpts of an interview with Musk. Musk said he was “disappointed” by Trump’s “Big Beautiful” budget bill. The bill includes tax exemptions and a trillion-dollar increase in defense spending. Musk said the bill undermines the DOGE’s job of cutting spending and also reflects the great tension within the Republican Party over future strategy. -Translated from the BBC
