A day after one of the weakest “scoops” in recent memory — so bad that the White House press secretary actually took to social media to call it “garbage” — President Donald Trump emphasized there was no schism with Tesla CEO and Department of Government Efficiency chair Elon Musk, saying he wanted him to stay “as long as possible.”
Trump’s statement came after a report, initially by Politico, that Musk’s likely departure from DOGE was “a shift in the Trump-Musk relationship from a month ago.”
“Musk’s defenders inside the administration believe that the time will soon be right for a transition, given their view that there’s only so much more he can cut from government agencies without shaving too close to the bone,” the report said.
“But many other Trump allies say he’s an unpredictable, unmanageable force who has had issues communicating his plans with Cabinet secretaries and through the White House chain of command led by Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, frequently sending them into a frenzy with unexpected and off-message comments on X, his social-media platform — including sharing unvetted and uncoordinated plans to gut federal agencies.”
This is all pretty “garbage,” to quote Karoline Leavitt, and even Politico’s Rachel Bade acknowledged that the actual reason for the departure was a law that only gives so-called “special government employees” — Musk is one — a 130-day limit on appointment duration.
“That 130-day period is expected to expire in late May or early June,” Politico noted. Oh.
That occasioned this response from Leavitt.
This “scoop” is garbage.
Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete. https://t.co/Brppff6SKi
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) April 2, 2025
Do you support Elon Musk?
Furthermore, any schism between Trump and Musk was put to bed by the president himself.
“I want Elon to stay as long as possible,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday.
“Number one: I like him. Number two: He’s doing a great job. Number three: He is a patriot,” he added, according to the New York Post.
“We’re in no rush, but there will be a point in time in which Elon’s going to have to leave,” Trump added, noting — not unreasonably — that Musk has “a number of companies to run.”
But, as for how much longer he’s welcome in the administration? “As long as he likes,” Trump said.
Asked if he’d appoint him to a different SGE post to keep him around: “I would. I think Elon’s great,” Trump responded.
President Trump on Elon Musk and @DOGE: “I want Elon to stay as long as possible”
— America (@america) April 4, 2025
In other words, a lifetime of SGE appointments — the opposite of the Politico report. Oops.
Trump also added that DOGE’s latest tale of government inefficiency would be a pretty big reveal.
“[DOGE] found something today that’s horrible. It’s horrible — you’ll find out very soon,” Trump said. “What they found is incredible, and we give [Musk] a lot of credit. He’s got some very smart people.”
As for Musk’s team when he leaves, Trump is confident in that, too.
“We have a lot of smart people,” he said. “A lot of those people, I believe, are going to go into the agencies and then work on it from the inside.”
This was such a non-story that the quotes that Trump gave to refute it were … essentially the same as the ones that he gave during Oval Office remarks on Tuesday that occasioned the Wednesday piece from Politico.
“I think he’s been amazing, but I also think he’s got a big company to run,” he said. “And at some point, he’s going to be going back. He wants to. I’d keep him as long as I could keep him.”
So the truth appears to be, again, the exact opposite of what the media was attempting to spin. Their dishonesty is as consistent as the North Star is reliable.
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