From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Hailey Gomez

Billionaire Elon Musk announced Wednesday on X that his time working in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has officially come to an end.

Shortly after his 2024 election win, President Donald Trump appointed Musk to lead DOGE and fulfill his campaign vow of gutting wasteful government spending. In a post on X, however, Musk wrote that his “scheduled time” working as a special government employee has ended

“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending. The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government,” Musk wrote.

Semafor’s White House correspondent Shelby Talcott later said on X that a White House official confirmed the end of Musk’s time at the administration and that the offboarding would begin Wednesday evening.

Since working to help Trump into office, Musk has helped the administration bring change to Washington D.C. In February, Musk and his DOGE team began to receive massive pushback from Democrats after announcing the cut of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), leading Democrats and others to protest against the billionaire and his other companies, including Tesla.

During an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier in March, Musk acknowledged that he and the DOGE team were on a timeline with the administration, technically having a total of 130 days as a “special government employee.” Musk told the Fox host at the time that he believed he and his team would accomplish “most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame.”

“We are cutting the waste and fraud in real time. So every day like that passes, our goal is to reduce the waste and fraud by four billion dollars a day, every day, seven days a week, and so far we are succeeding,” Musk said.

DOGE came under the spotlight after USAID reports revealed the program wasted billions in taxpayer-funded dollars, some of which had a high risk of landing in the Taliban’s hands and also aiding an organization linked to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

While Musk had an initial target to slash as much as $2 trillion from federal spending, the former DOGE member said in April that the team would scale back their goals and instead target $150 billion in federal savings for fiscal year 2026. During that month, Musk also announced he was stepping back as DOGE’s leader, adding his involvement would drop “significantly” in May as the bulk of his reform efforts are “mostly done.”

By May, the billionaire said at the Qatar Economic Forum that he would also pull back his political donations.

“In terms of political spending, I’m going to do a lot less in the future,” Musk said. “I think I’ve done enough.”

“If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it,” Musk said. “I do not currently see a reason.”

In a recent interview on Sunday, Musk criticized Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” and stated his concerns about how the package could potentially increase budget deficits.

“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” Musk said.

MxM News

Quick Hit:

Russia has proposed a new round of peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul next week—an apparent response to rising pressure from President Trump, who recently warned Vladimir Putin that he’s “playing with fire” by continuing to bomb Ukrainian cities.

Key Details:

• Russia offered to meet Ukraine in Istanbul on Monday to exchange written ceasefire proposals.
• Ukrainian officials see it as a move to appease Trump, not a genuine push for peace.
• Trump has threatened economic retaliation against Russia if attacks on Ukraine continue.

🇺🇸 TRUMP: “WE’LL KNOW IN 2 WEEKS IF PUTIN IS STALLING”

"We're gonna find out whether or not he's tapping us along or not.

And if he is, we'll respond a little bit differently."

Source: @RealAmVoice https://t.co/XWXakS3ye2 pic.twitter.com/2nXkaJZaq4

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 28, 2025

Diving Deeper:

The Kremlin has proposed a fresh round of peace talks with Ukraine next week, hoping to exchange written proposals for a ceasefire agreement and possible terms to end the war. Russian and Ukrainian officials confirmed the offer on Thursday, with the proposed meeting set for Monday in Istanbul.

The proposal came directly from Putin adviser Vladimir Medinsky, who leads Russia’s negotiating team. In a call with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rusten Umerov, Medinsky stated, “We are ready to begin a substantive discussion of each of the points of the package agreement on the future ceasefire.”

But behind the scenes, Ukrainian officials are skeptical. According to a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the proposal appears more like a diplomatic gesture aimed at placating President Trump than a sincere bid to end hostilities. Ukraine has not prepared any written peace offer, the source said, instead advocating for an unconditional ceasefire before formal negotiations. “Maybe the Russians can just send their peace memo by email,” the source added.

The renewed Russian outreach follows blunt warnings from President Trump, who has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin’s refusal to stop the bombardment of Ukrainian cities. Earlier this week, Trump accused Putin of “playing with fire” and signaled that economic consequences could be on the table if Moscow continues to ignore his calls for peace.

“I don’t like rockets fired into cities and I am not going to allow it,” Trump told reporters. He acknowledged that sanctions or tariffs were being considered but said he was holding off to avoid jeopardizing a possible deal. “I don’t want to screw it up by doing that,” Trump said. “I am a lot tougher than others… but you have to know when to use that.”

This marks the second round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, with the first taking place in Istanbul two weeks ago. That meeting ended with little progress. Since then, Trump has attempted to personally broker a ceasefire, including a rejected proposal for Vatican-hosted talks.

Putin had previously promised Trump that a “peace memo” would be delivered within days. That promise remains unfulfilled, and in the meantime, Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian cities have intensified, further testing Trump’s patience. “We are gonna find out soon if [Putin] is tapping us along or not, and if he is we will respond a little bit differently,” Trump warned.

Trump also noted that his envoy, Steve Witkoff, is actively engaging with Russian officials. “He’s dealing with Putin very strongly right now to see if he wants a deal,” Trump said.

As of now, Ukraine is weighing its options. While the proposed meeting in Istanbul could signal movement, Ukrainian officials remain cautious—viewing the Kremlin’s motives as more about managing international optics, particularly with Trump, than genuinely pursuing peace.