Elon Musk leaving U.S. gov't role

NEW YORK, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday that he is leaving his government role as an adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump.

"As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," Musk posted on X.

"The DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency) mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government," he said.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday thanked Musk for his work and promised to pursue more spending cuts in the future, posting on X that "Elon Musk and the entire DOGE team have done INCREDIBLE work exposing waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government."

"The House is eager and ready to act on DOGE's findings so we can deliver even more cuts to big government that President Trump wants and the American people demand," Johnson wrote.

The billionaire will rededicate himself to companies like Tesla and rocket manufacturer SpaceX. Musk said earlier that he will step back from political spending, because "I think I've done enough."

In an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, Musk criticized Trump's "One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act," describing the legislation, a mix of tax cuts and enhanced immigration enforcement, as a "massive spending bill" that increases the federal deficit and "undermines the work" of DOGE.

Trump on Wednesday defended his bill, saying, "I'm not happy about certain aspects of it, but I'm thrilled by other aspects of it."