President Donald Trump to enact 10% global tariffs on Saturday
President Donald Trump declared sweeping tariffs of 10% and more on imports from all countries despite warnings of a global trade war.
The Trump administration pushed back on reports that Elon Musk would leave the administration in the coming weeks Wednesday.
Politico and ABC News reported that President Donald Trump had told members of his Cabinet that Musk will return to the private sector, although the reports did not make clear if that would mean Musk leaving before his 130-day mandate as a special government employee.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X, the social media platform Musk owns, that “Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.”
Neither the reports nor the post made clear if Musk will leave ahead of the end of his 130-day window to work for the federal government as a special employee.
The row comes on the heels of a major loss for Musk, who made the Wisconsin state Supreme Court race a proxy-referendum on the billionaire. The race was won by liberal judge Susan Crawford, who said in her acceptance speech, “I never could have imagined that I’d be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin. And we won!”
Here’s what to know about the Department of Government Efficiency, special government employees and Elon Musk.
What is DOGE?
The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was created when Trump renamed the previously existing United States Digital Service in an executive order on his first day in office.
Elon Musk was appointed as a senior adviser to the president and leader of DOGE.
However, court filings have called into question Musk’s role with DOGE, stating that Musk is a “senior advisor to the president” rather than leader of DOGE. The court filings also stated that the department is distinct and separate from the White House. The White House later announced that Amy Gleason, a former official at the U.S. Digital Service, was the acting DOGE administrator.
How much money has DOGE saved?
It is unclear how much money DOGE has saved the federal governement.
As of Wednesday, the agency claims on its website that it has saved an estimated $140 billion, which is less than $900 per taxpayer .
However, the site has been riddled with inaccuracies.
Previous reporting from USA TODAY in February found that the website included a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement contract that the quasi-government agency said was worth $8 billion that was shown to actually be valued at $8 million.
At the time, the value of the savings listed on the so-called “wall of receipts” equaled $8.5 billion without the error, far below the then-claim of $55 billion.
When must Elon Musk leave his special government employee role?
Musk’s window to work as a special government employee ends in late May.
The White House confirmed that it had installed Musk in the role on Feb. 3, though it is not clear exactly when Musk’s time working directly for the government began.
The designation allows Musk to work for the federal government with or without compensation for 130 days.
What has Elon Musk said about staying in the Trump administration?
Musk told Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” last week that he was confident he would finish most of his stated aim of cutting $1 trillion in federal spending by the end of his 130 days.
But in a March 10 interview with Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow,” when he was asked by host Larry Kudlow, “You going to go another year?” Musk replied, “Yeah, I think so.”
Contributing: Mike Snider, Francesca Chambers – USA TODAY, Shelby Slade – The Arizona Republic, Reuters