Five ways the most rich man has changed the White House

The time of Elon Musk in the Trump administration ends after a tumultuous 129 days, in which the most rich person in the world has taken a ax for government spending – moving enough disputes along the way.

Earlier this week, the billionaire, born in South Africa, in his social media platform, X, thanked President Trump for his Time at the Ministry of Government Efficiency or Dog.

Trump has announced that he will host a press conference in the Oval cabinet on Friday with Musk, writing: “This will be his last day, but not really, because he will always be with us, helping all the way.”

While Musk’s time in the government lasted a little over four months, his work with Dog increased the federal government and influenced not only in the halls of power in Washington – but around the world.

Let’s look at some of the ways Musk has left a mark.

Musk took work with Trump’s White House with one mission: to reduce the costs of the government as much as possible.

It started with an initial target of at least $ 2 trillion, which then moved to 1TN and eventually $ 150 billion.

To date, Dodge claims to have saved $ 175 billion through assets combination, leasing and grant cancellation, “deletion of fraud and incorrect payments”, regulatory savings and a reduction of 260,000 people from 2.3 million federal workforce.

A BBC analysis of these figures, However, he found that sometimes there was no evidence.

This mission sometimes causes both chaos and dispute, including some cases where federal judges stopped the mass dismissals and ordered the employees to be restored.

In other cases, the administration is forced to give way to shooting.

In a remarkable case, in February, the administration stopped the dismissal of hundreds of federal employees working at the National Nuclear Security Administration, including some with sensitive jobs related to the US Nuclear Arsenal.

Musk himself repeatedly admits that mass shootings inevitably include mistakes.

“We will make mistakes,” he said in February, after his department confused the Mozambique region for Hamas Gaza -controlled control until he reduced a help program. “But we will act quickly to correct any mistakes.”

Dog’s access efforts have also gathered disputes, more special aspirations of the Department of Access to Sensitive Systems of the Ministry of Finance, which control the private information of millions of Americans.

Survey shows that government spending are popular with many Americans – even if Musk’s personal popularity has decreased.

The presence of Musk – a selected “special civil servant” with companies that consider the US government as customers – Trump’s White House also raised eyebrows, which raised questions about potential conflicts of interest.

His corporate empire includes large companies that do business with us and foreign governments. SpaceX has $ 22 billion in US government treaties, according to the company’s CEO.

Some Democrats have also accused Musk of taking advantage of his position to engage in a business abroad for his satellite internet services company, Starlink.

The White House was accused of supporting Musk’s business by showing vehicles made by Tesla, his car company – on the White House grass in March.

Musk and Trump have shrunk from any suggestion that his work with the government is conflict or ethically problematic.

Musk’s work with Dodge was felt most after the vast majority – over 80% – from the US Agency’s International Development Agency (USAID) programs were eliminated after a six -week Dodge review. The rest were swallowed up by the State Department.

Musk and DOG abbreviations represent part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to approach the costs abroad in accordance with their America First approach.

Agency cuts – loaded with work such as starvation, vaccinations and food assistance in conflict areas – quickly influenced projects, including Municipal Kitchens in the Sudan war -torn warscholarships For young Afghan women Who escaped from the Taliban and the clinics For transsexual people in India.

USAID was also a decisive soft power tool around the world, leading some offenders aimed at eliminating it as a sign of reducing the American influence on the global scene.

While Musk – and Trump – for years he has been accused of offenders in the spread of unfounded conspiracy theories, the presence of Musk in the White House has extremely emphasized how misinformation has penetrated the discourse at the highest levels of the US government.

For example, Musk spread unjustified Internet theory that American gold reserves were quietly stolen by Fort Knox in Kentucky. At one point, he sailed the idea of ​​living a visit there to ensure that gold was secured.

Just recently, Musk has spread widely discredited rumors that the white population of Africa in South Africa faces a “genocide” in their home country.

These rumors found a way in the oval office earlier in May when a meeting aimed at soothing tension between the US and South Africa turned dramatically after Trump introduced South Africa President Cyril Ramafosa with videos and articles that he said were evidence of crimes against Africa.

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

While Trump publicly – and repeatedly – supported Musk and Dodge’s work, Musk’s term was marked by reports of tension between him and cabinet members who believe that the Dog cut affects their agencies.

“They have great respect for the Elon and that he does this, and some do not agree a little,” Trump admitted at a cabinet meeting in February. “If not, I want them to talk.”

At one point, he was asked if any of the cabinet members had expressed dissatisfaction with Musk and turned to the room to ask them. Nobody talks.

The announcement of Musk’s departure also came the same day when CBS, the BBC American partner, publishes a part of an interview during which Musk said it was being “Disappointed” by Trump’s Big, Beautiful Budget. The bill includes many billions of tax breaks and a bet to increase defense costs.

Musk said the bill “undermines” Doge’s work to reduce costs – reflecting more tension in the Republican Party on the way forward.