Departure was announced in the early hours of Thursday
Elon Musk left President Donald Trump’s administration, Associated Press advanced at dawn on Thursday.
Musk’s departure marks the end of a turbulent chapter that included thousands of layoffs, the destruction of government agencies and numerous disputes.
“Now that my time scheduled as a special government official comes to an end, I want to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce superfluous spending,” Musk said on Wednesday night (this dawn in Lisbon) in a brief message on the social network.
The businessman added that the mission of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), an initiative focused on reducing bureaucracy and federal spending, “will strengthen over time as he becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
Musk had already realized, in recent days, of the intention to leave the government and focus on the companies it holds, especially Aerospace Spacex, which on Tuesday, the ninth test flight of a rocket to bring humanity to Mars.
That day, US businessman Elon Musk told the CBS Sunday Morning television program, to be dismissed with the fiscal and budgetary project promoted by Donald Trump, claiming that the bill increases the deficit and raises public spending.
Musk, who in recent months has served as Trump’s special counselor, ahead of Doge, criticized the budget bill, which was approved by the House of Representatives last week, and sent for US Senate assessment.
“Frankly, I was dismissed to see the huge expenses bill, which increases the budget deficit (…) and harms the work that the Doge team is doing,” said Musk, according to an excerpts from an interview released by the television chain before the broadcast next Sunday.
“I think a bill can be big or beautiful, but I don’t know if it may be both. This is my personal opinion,” he said.
The approval of the budget proposal represented a victory for Republicans in the House of Representatives, despite several dissident voices within the party trying to deepen the cuts in expenses and accelerate their implementation.
Now, the budget bill faces a difficult battle in the Senate, despite the republican majority in the High Chamber of Congress.
The budget bill seeks to extend Trump’s tax incentives during the first term (2017-2021) and add new tax cuts, along with greater border management funding and the application of the president’s hard policy of immigration.
To compensate for the increase in expense, the bill proposes cuts in social security and assistance programs.
Although he kept very close to the president before and after Trump’s inauguration last January, Musk gradually moved away from work at the controversial doge, which led to the resignation of thousands of federal officials and recommended a reduction in government operations.
In April, the tycoon announced that he would reduce responsibilities as a government consultant from May – a decision announced shortly after his Tesla car company reported a 71% drop in net profit in the first quarter of the year.
