The richest man in the world changed the White House

Elon Musk's time in the Trump administration is about to end after a raucous 129 days, with the world's wealthiest man taking the axe to government spending – arousing full controversy along the way.

Earlier this week, the South African-born billionaire thanked President Trump for his time at the Department of Efficiency or Works on his social media platform X.

Although Trump has not commented directly, his departure has been given his departure.

“It will be his last day, but not really, because he will always be with us and help along the way,” Trump announced that he will hold a press conference in the Oval Office with Musk on Friday.

Although Musk's time in the administration lasted for more than four months, his cooperation with Doge subverted the federal government, not only in Washington's Hall of Power, but also around the world.

Let's take a look at some of the ways Musk left his mark.

Musk works with Trump White House: Cut as much government spending as possible.

His initial goal was to “at least $2 trillion” and then transfer to $100 million, eventually increasing $150 billion.

To date, Doge claims to save $175 billion through asset sales, leases and grant cancellations, “fraud and improper payment removals”, regulatory savings and 260,000 people from 2.3 million UK federal workforce reductions.

However, BBC analysis of these numbers found that sometimes there was a lack of evidence.

The mission has caused confusion and controversy at times, including federal judges stopping mass shootings and ordering some situations to reinstate employees.

In other cases, the government was forced to go back on the shooting.

In a noteworthy situation in February, the government stopped the firing of hundreds of federal employees working at the National Nuclear Safety Administration, including some work-sensitive work related to the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

Musk himself repeatedly admitted that large-scale shooting inevitably includes errors.

“We will make mistakes.” His department in February mistakenly believed that a region in Mozambique was cutting aid plans while mistakenly thinking of Gaza in Mozambique. “But we will act quickly to correct any mistakes.”

Doge's efforts to access data have also been controversial, especially as the department seeks to control the private information of millions of Americans to promote.

Polls show that cutting government spending remains popular among many Americans – even as Musk's personal popularity gradually declines.

Musk’s Musk’s White House, who is an unelected “special government employee” with a company that sees the U.S. government as a client, has also attracted attention and raised questions about potential conflicts of interest.

His corporate empire includes large companies that operate with the United States and foreign governments. The company's CEO said SpaceX has a $22 billion U.S. government contract.

Some Democrats have also accused Musk of using his stance to provide foreign business to his satellite internet service company Starlink.

The White House is accused of helping Musk's business by showing Tesla's vehicles on the White House lawn in March.

Both Musk and Trump shrugged at any suggestions he had conflicts with the administration’s work or had moral problems.

All over the world, Musk has worked the most with the Governor after a six-week review by the vast majority of the USAID program (more than 80%). The rest are absorbed by the State Council.

Part of the broader effort by the Trump administration to align overseas spending with its “America First” approach is musk and spending-led cuts.

The agency’s cuts – responsible for work such as famine discoveries, vaccination and food aid in conflict areas – quickly affected including in the public kitchens of war-torn Sudan, scholarships for young Afghan women fleeing the Taliban, and clinics for transgender people in India.

USAID is also a crucial tool for our “soft power” around the world, leading some critics to point out that it removes the mark of U.S. influence on the global stage.

Although Musk and Trump – have been accused by critics for years of spreading unfounded conspiracy theories, Musk's presence at the White House sharply emphasizes how to stand out from the highest level of the U.S. government.

Musk, for example, spreads an unfounded Internet theory that U.S. gold reserves were quietly stolen by Fort Knox, Kentucky. At one point, he came up with the idea of ​​visiting there to ensure that the gold was fixed.

Recently, Musk spread widely publicized rumors that the white Afrikaan population of South Africa faces “genocide” in its home country.

The rumors came on their way to the Oval Office in early May, when Trump showed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa the video and articles he said, evidence of crimes against South Africans, aimed at soothing tensions between the United States and South Africa.

Musk's work in the administration also shows that despite public commitments to solidarity, tensions remain within the Trump 2.0 administration.

While Trump openly (and repeatedly) supports Musk and the Governor’s work, Musk’s tenure is marked by reports of tensions with cabinet members who believe cuts the road and they are affecting their institutions.

“They have a lot of respect for Elon, he is doing it, and some people disagree.” “If not, I hope they speak out loud.”

At one point, he was asked if any of the cabinet members expressed dissatisfaction with Musk and turned to the room to ask them. No one spoke.

Musk's announcement also came on the same day that CBS (the U.S. partner of the BBC) announced part of an interview, during which Musk said he was “disappointed” with Trump's “big and beautiful” budget bill. The bill includes millions of dollars in tax breaks and commitments to increase defense spending.

Musk said the bill “destroys” the work of reducing spending – reflecting the greater tensions within the Republican Party on the way forward.