Elon Musk arrived in Washington, D.C., with high hopes. He left with a literal and reputational black eye.
President Donald Trump marked the end of Musk’s tenure as a government employee with an event in the Oval Office May 30, where he thanked the billionaire for his work leading the Department of Government Efficiency and gave him a golden key.
“Elon’s delivered a colossal change in the old ways of doing business in Washington,” Trump declared.
The warm sendoff came after Musk struggled to unlock cost savings in the federal government, delivering far less than what he promised. He leaves Washington D.C. a much more polarizing figure, the subject of intense criticism and protests that have dinged his business empire.
Musk showed up in the Oval Office dressed all in black, from his DOGE hat to his t-shirt and blazer. He also had a black eye given to him by his young son.
More: Elon Musk’s rise and fall: From Trump’s chainsaw-wielding sidekick to a swift exit
Musk’s DOGE work, meanwhile, left his reputation badly bruised, which formed the subtext of much of the Oval Office gathering. Trump complained about the billionaire suffering “the slings and the arrows” and Musk said DOGE became a “bogeyman.”
Musk used DOGE to bulldoze through the federal government, shuttering whole agencies and instituting mass layoffs. The result, he said May 30, is about $160 billion in savings so far, far below the $2 trillion he talked about on the campaign trail and $1 trillion he pledged after Trump took office.
Critics complained that he hurt vital programs with indiscriminate cutting and nonpartisan researchers calculated that most of the savings will be wiped out by the costs of reinstating workers whose firings were illegal, defending those cases in court, and other effects like lost revenue from shrinking the IRS. The resulting backlash took a toll.
The billionaire is now stepping away from his government work to focus more on his businesses such as electric car company Tesla, which was targeted by protesters and has seen sales slip.
Here are five takeaways from the Oval Office event.
Musk says he’ll still be around
Musk’s exit as the DOGE leader came as his designation as a “special government employee” ‒ which allowed him to stay on the job for 130 calendar days a year ‒ ended.
“My time as a special government employee necessarily had to end, it was a limited-time thing,” Musk said May 30.
The billionaire vowed that DOGE’s work will continue, though, calling it a “way of life” that is “permeating throughout the government.”
Musk also said he’ll still continue to visit and consult with Trump.
“Elon’s really not leaving, he’s going to be back and forth… it’s his baby,” Trump said.
Yet Musk has taken steps to distance himself from politics and the Trump administration after a tumultuous period. He recently said he plans to spend “a lot less” money on campaigns − after dropping $290 million getting Trump elected and $20 million on a losing judicial race in Wisconsin − and attracted attention for criticizing Trump’s top legislative priority, saying it would add to the deficit and “undermine the work that the DOGE team is doing.”
Musk’s literal black eye
The backlash to DOGE hurt Musk’s reputation. He also suffered some physical pain recently, the result of “horsing around” with his 5-year-old son, X.
“I said, ‘Go ahead, punch me in the face.’ And he did it,” Musk said in the Oval Office in explaining his black eye.
The injury prompted immediate speculation on social media. Musk’s 14 children have been a source of fascination as he stepped into the public spotlight to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, with X spending weeks tagging along in the Oval Office and around Capitol Hill.
Musk shuts down question about drug use
The Oval Office meeting came the same day the New York Times reported that Musk allegedly frequently used drugs such as ketamine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms while campaigning with Trump in 2024. The paper said it was unclear whether Musk used drugs while working for Trump in the Department of Government Efficiency.
A reporter tried to ask Musk about his alleged drug use during the 2024 campaign. But Musk dodged the question and criticized the New York Times’ reporting on Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“Let’s move on,” Musk said, standing behind the president at the Resolute Desk.
Musk, the CEO of carmaker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX, and owner of social-media platform X, acknowledged in March 2024 that he used prescription ketamine to combat bouts of depression. He worried corporate executives by smoking marijuana during a podcast in 2018.
The New York Times story built on a Wall Street Journal story in January 2024 that alleged Musk used drugs such as LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and mushrooms. The campaign featured some erratic behavior, such as Musk jumping on stage behind Trump during an October rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Musk didn’t respond to reporters’ questions related to his drug use, but he has previously acknowledged using “small amount” of ketamine “once every other week” and marijuana “almost never.” The New York Times reported that his ketamine use was often enough to affect his bladder.
Trump’s marital advice to Macron
Musk’s shiner from his son wasn’t the only physical incident that came up during the Oval Office event.
Trump offered some advice for French President Emmanuel Macron after a video of Macron’s wife apparently shoving him in the face in front of an open plane door went viral: “Make sure the door remains closed.”
Trump downplayed the incident when asked about it.
“He’s fine too. They’re fine,” Trump said. “They’re two really good people I know them very well.”
Macron called speculation about the incident with his wife, Brigitte Macron, “nonsense,” saying it showed the couple “joking around.” The clip was taken after the couple landed in Hanoi, Vietnam, as part of a Southeast Asia tour.
Diddy pardon?
Trump also fielded a question about pardoning the rapper known as Diddy, saying he hadn’t been approached about it but not ruling out the clemency move.
Fox News Reporter Peter Doocey questioned Trump on May 30 about a possible pardon for Sean Combs, the musician who is on federal trial in New York for racketeering and sex trafficking. The two men have been friends in the past.
“Well, nobody’s asked,” Trump replied. “I know people are thinking about it.”
Contributing: Joey Garrison
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump gives Musk Oval Office sendoff after DOGE turbulence
The post 5 takeaways from Oval Office sendoff with Trump appeared first on USA TODAY.
