As curiosity surrounding Elon Musk’s continued involvement in the Trump administration swirls, Vice President JD Vance stated on Thursday that he will maintain his role as a “friend and adviser” to the Trump administration even after his tenure at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) concludes.
Musk’s position within the administration was always intended to be swift and temporary as he and the DOGE team snuffed out government waste. “Fundamentally, Elon is going to remain a friend and an adviser of both me and the president — and he’s done a lot of good things” Vance said in an appearance on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”
Vance elaborated on Musk’s contributions, explaining, “Elon came in, and we said, ‘We need you to make government more efficient, we need you to shrink the incredible fat bureaucracy that thwarts the will of the American people but also costs way too much money.'”
“Of course, he’s going to continue to be an adviser,” Vance confirmed. “We said, ‘That’s going to take about six months’ — and that’s what Elon signed up for.”
Mainstream media, such as left-leaning Politico, attempted to paint a picture of a possible rift between Trump and Musk despite the reality that due to federal regulations, Musk’s role as a special government employee is limited to 130 consecutive days.
Countering these narratives, Vance criticized the reports as “fake news” and emphasized that DOGE’s initiatives would persist beyond Musk’s departure.
“The work of DOGE is not even close to done. The work of Elon is not even close to done,” he stated. “DOGE has got a lot of work to do … that work is going to continue after Elon leaves.”
Musk, acknowledging the time constraints, commented in a Fox interview last week, “I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by $1 trillion within that time frame.”
In early February Musk made it clear he expected his role in the Trump administration to last about four months. Under the current guidelines, Musk’s last day at DOGE is set for May 30, exactly 130 days after Trump’s inauguration, according to two sources close to the White House, reports the New York Post.
During his tenure, Musk has spearheaded significant budget reductions at the US Agency for International Development, the Department of Education, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Social Security Administration.
“People don’t realize how fast and uncontrolled the bureaucracy was. We started to chip away at it, but there’s a lot of work to do. It’s not going to happen all in six months. It’s going to take a long and committed effort” Vance continued.
Amen, batten down the hatches and fire in the hole. Keep it up please.