House Democrats Warn Elon Musk Must Leave Government Role After 130 Days

The Democrats say that Musk cannot stay in his special government employee role after May 30.

Elon Musk arrives for President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2025. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

More than 70 House Democrats wrote to the Trump administration on April 9 seeking confirmation that special adviser Elon Musk will leave the federal government after 130 days.

Musk, the tech billionaire leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is a special government employee, which means he has to leave within that timeframe.

In a letter to the White House, Democrats led by Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) wrote that once Musk leaves the government, “he may not legally return to the federal government this year without divesting from his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX.”

They said Musk, as a special government employee, “cannot remain in his position beyond May 30th.”

“We demand an immediate public statement from your administration making clear that Musk will resign and surrender all decision making authority,” the letter reads.

The authors of the letter did not suggest that they would take action against the administration or Musk if he didn’t leave.

The Trump administration has not publicly responded to the letter.

The Epoch Times contacted the White House for comment on April 10 but did not receive a response by publication time.

Earlier in April, President Donald Trump indicated to reporters that Musk would leave “in a few months” and said that “there’s going to be a point where he’s going to have to leave.”

Also, Vice President JD Vance told Fox News this month that Musk will continue to provide advice to the administration after he leaves the government.

“DOGE has got a lot of work to do, and yeah, that work is going to continue after Elon leaves,” Vance told Fox News on April 3. “But fundamentally, Elon is going to remain a friend and an adviser of both me and the president.”

In comments earlier this month, Musk said at an event in Wisconsin that his work in the Trump administration is harming Tesla’s stock and that protests and attacks against Tesla properties and cars could be partially to blame.

As of April 10, Tesla’s stock had dropped by more than 36 percent since the start of 2025, although the company’s shares have increased by 41 percent year over year.

Musk separately told Bret Baier of Fox News on March 27 that DOGE will be on track to achieve its goal before his term as a special government employee is up.

“I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame,” he said.

The White House has not disclosed any clear timeline for shutting down DOGE. The government cost-cutting organization was never intended to become a permanent fixture in Washington. It was originally intended to operate until July 4, 2026.

DOGE was initially envisioned as an independent advisory panel, with Musk sharing leadership with Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur. Ramaswamy, a Republican, dropped out and is running for governor of Ohio, and DOGE became part of the government.

While DOGE has faced some hurdles in the courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued an order this week that cleared the way for DOGE to access records within the Department of Education and Office of Personnel Management. It reversed a lower court order from a federal judge that barred the organization from doing so, which came in response to a lawsuit filed by several unions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.