Five ways of the richest person in the world changed the White House

Elon Musk’s time in the Trump administration goes to the end after the 129 days, when the richest man in the world took the ax for state expenses – stunning along the way.

Earlier this week, the billionaire of South Africa on his platform in social media thanked President Trump for his Time in the Department of Government Effectiveness or DOGE.

Trump announced that a press conference in an oval office from Musk would be held on Friday, writing: “It will be his last day, but not quite because he will always be with us, helping all the way.”

While Musk’s time in the government lasted just over four months, his work with the dog was subjected to the federal government and influenced not only in the Hall of Power in Washington, but around the world.

Let’s take a look at some ways as Musk left the mark.

Musk got a job with the White House of Trump with one mission: to maximize the cost of the government.

It started with the initial goal of “at least $ 2 trillion”, which then moved to $ 1tn and ended up $ 150 billion.

To date, Dodge claims that saving $ 175 billion due to the combination of asset sales, rent and cancellation, “fraud and incorrect removal of payment”, regulatory savings and a decrease in 260,000 people with 2.3 million federal labor.

A BBC analysis of these numbers However, they found that the evidence is sometimes lacking.

This mission sometimes caused both chaos and disputes, including some cases where federal judges stopped mass firing and ordered to restore employees.

In other cases, the administration was forced to abandon the shooting.

In one of the notable cases in February, the administration stopped firing hundreds of federal staff working in the National Nuclear Safety Administration, including some of the sensitive jobs related to the US nuclear arsenal.

Musk himself has repeatedly admitted that mass firing would inevitably include mistakes.

“We will make mistakes,” he said in February, after his department was mistaken in the Mozambique region for controlled by Hamas Gaza, reducing the help program. “But we will act quickly to correct any mistakes.”

Deague efforts also caused disputes, in particular, pressing the access to sensitive treasury systems that control the private information of millions of Americans.

Polls show that the reduction of public spending remains popular in many Americans – even when Musk’s personal popularity has decreased.

The presence of Musk – an unleashed “special government officer” with companies considering the US government as customers – Trump also raised her eyebrows in the White House, which raised questions about possible conflicts of interest.

Its corporate empire includes large companies that lead business with us and foreign governments. According to SpaceX Executive Director, there are $ 22 billion in government contracts.

Some Democrats also accused Musk of taking advantage of their position to defeat a business abroad for their satellite Internet, Starlink.

The White House was accused of helping Musk’s business, demonstrating vehicles made by Tesla – its combat vehicle – on the White House lawn in March.

Musk and Trump both shrugged that his work with the government is controversial or ethically problematic.

Worldwide, Musk’s work was most felt after the vast majority – more than 80% – the US Agency for International Development (USAID) was eliminated after a six -week DOGE examination. The rest were absorbed by the State Department.

Crossings under the guidance of Musk and under the leadership of Dogel were part of the broader efforts of the Trump administration to raise costs closer to its approach “America’s first”.

Reduction for the agency – Immediately entrusted with work as detecting hunger, vaccinations and food assistance in conflict areas – prompted projects, including Utilities in the destroyed war Sudanscholarship For young Afghan women which escaped from the Taliban and the clinic for transgender people in India.

USAID was also a decisive “soft power” tool around the world, which led to some detractors who indicate its elimination as a sign of reducing American influence on the world stage.

While Musk – and Trump – for many years have been accused of detractors of distributing unjustified conspiracy theories, the presence of Musk in the White House extremely emphasized how misinformation penetrated the discourse at the highest levels of the US government.

For example, Musk spread the unreasonable theory of the Internet that the US gold reserves were quietly stolen from Fort -Neax in Kentucky. At one point, he sailed with the idea of ​​a visit to the visit to ensure that gold was fixed.

Most recently. Musk spread widely discredited rumors that the White African South African population faces “genocide” in its country.

These rumors found their way to the Oval cabinet earlier in May, when a meeting aimed at soothing tensions between the US and South Africa overcame, after Trump presented South Africa President Cyril Ramaphos with videos and articles that, he said, were evidence of crimes against African.

Musk’s work in the government also showed that, despite the public promises of unity, there is tension in the Trump 2.0 administration.

While Trump has publicly – and repeatedly supported Musk and Doge’s work, Musk’s stay was noted by reports of tensions between him and the members of the cabinet who felt that the cuts had affected their agency.

“They are very respected by Elon, and what he does, and some disagree with that,” Trump admitted at a February ministerial meeting. “If this isn’t, I want them to speak.”

At one point, he was asked if the members of the office expressed his dissatisfaction with Musk and turned into the room to ask them. No one talked.

Musk’s departure announcement also occurred on the same day CBS – American partner BBC – published a part of the interview during which Musk said he was “Disappointed” by the big budget bill of Trump “Big, Beautiful”. The bill includes long -term tax benefits and a promise to increase defense costs.

Musk said the bill “undermines” the work of Dogel to cut costs – reflecting great tensions in the Republican Party on the way forward.