President Donald Trump presented Elon Musk with a symbolic gold key to the White House on Friday, praising Musk’s work as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The send-off, held in the Oval Office, marked the end of Musk’s special government employee tenure, limited by law to 130 days. Trump hailed Musk’s leadership in rooting out government waste, fraud, and abuse, calling him “one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced.”
Trump credited Musk and his hand-picked team with uncovering staggering inefficiencies and mismanagement across federal agencies. “The kinds of things they’ve found — they’re pretty unbelievable,” Trump said. He acknowledged the challenges Musk faced, including fierce opposition from entrenched bureaucrats, but said the country is grateful for Musk’s work.
Musk, sporting a black eye and a shirt reading “Dogefather,” declared that DOGE’s mission is far from over. He likened the effort to a way of life, comparing it to Buddhism, and predicted that the program’s influence would continue to grow. Musk estimated DOGE’s current savings at over $160 billion for fiscal years 2025 and 2026, with expectations to exceed $200 billion soon. He promised to remain involved as an advisor and friend to the president.
Trump agreed, saying Musk would “be back and forth” at the White House. “It’s his baby, and I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things,” Trump added.
In a fiery exchange, Musk dismissed a question from Fox News’s Peter Doocy about a New York Times report, calling the paper “the same organization that got a Pulitzer Prize for false reporting on Russiagate.” Musk suggested the Times should return its Pulitzer, then told Doocy, “Let’s move on.”
