Billionaire Elon Musk is reportedly pulling again from figuring out of the White Home—however he’s not achieved screwing with us simply but.
In an interview with the New York Submit, President Donald Trump’s Chief of Employees Susie Wiles confirmed that Trump’s former “first buddy” is “not physically present as much as he was.”
“Instead of meeting with him in person, I’m talking to him on the phone, but it’s the same net effect,” Wiles stated. “He’ll be stepping back a little, but he’s certainly not abandoning it. And his people are definitely not.”
Musk had been a looming—and albeit creepy—presence in Washington throughout Trump’s first 100 days, even when the world’s richest man has achieved nothing however use the place to learn himself and his personal belongings. However earlier this month, he introduced plans to spend extra time along with his troubled automotive firm and step again from his controversial function atop the so-called Division of Authorities Effectivity. Musk informed traders he’d dial down his involvement to only one or two days per week, beginning in Could.
However it’s not simply Tesla’s cratering gross sales driving him out. Musk’s “special government employee” standing legally caps him at 130 days—a clock that runs out on the finish of subsequent month.
Nonetheless, don’t confuse that with an exit. Musk isn’t fading away—he’s simply altering lanes.
Demonstrators protest towards Elon Musk outdoors a Tesla dealership on April 12 in Kansas Metropolis, Missouri.
4 individuals with direct information of Musk’s plans informed Reuters the billionaire is gearing as much as be a serious participant within the 2026 midterm elections. One supply stated Musk now sees his (dwindling) fortune and his social media platform, X, as his most potent political weapons heading into what’s anticipated to be a tough cycle for Republicans.
“How Elon exits matters,” one supply stated. “The priority is keeping him close—without turning a major ally into a liability heading into 2026.”
Too late. Musk is already a legal responsibility.
Musk earned these numbers too. At DOGE, he delivered ache, slashing or proposing cuts to most cancers analysis, meals assist, Social Safety, veterans’ well being care, and extra. Because the economic system wobbles on the sting of recession, he’s threatened even deeper cuts. The New York Occasions reviews DOGE has axed no less than 58,000 federal jobs (although some have been quickly reinstated because of court docket orders), with one other 148,000 probably on the chopping block.
All that for an company that has achieved nearly nothing. DOGE has lied about its financial savings, and unbiased estimates present it won’t have saved a dime.
So if Republicans assume sidelining Musk will make him much less of a danger in 2026, they’re kidding themselves. His bodily exit from the White Home doesn’t imply DOGE leaves with him. As Wiles informed the New York Submit, DOGE staffers “aren’t going anywhere”—and it’s exhausting to imagine Musk received’t nonetheless be pulling the strings, whether or not it’s via proxies or DMs.
He could also be leaving the West Wing. However he’s not gone. He’s lurking—from a distance, with a checkbook in a single hand and a shitposting app within the different.
Perhaps if voters ship a blue wave in 2026, we are able to lastly be rid of him. Till then, we’re caught with Elon.
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