'Elon Musk will continue to be...': JD Vance clarifies the future of DOGE

Amid speculations over Elon Musk stepping down from his DOGE role, Vice President JD Vance cleared the air Thursday in his interview with Fox and said Elon Musk will remain an adviser and a friend to both JD and President Donald Trump even after his time as a special government employee ends after 130 days.

So, is it true that Elon Musk is stepping down from his government role? JD Vance said the Politico report that Donald Trump told members of his inner circle that Musk will leave soon is totally fake news. But sooner or later, Elon Musk will have to go back to his businesses, JD confirmed.

“Elon came in and we said, we need you to make government more efficient. We need you to shrink the incredible fast bureaucracy that thwarts the will of the American people but also cost way too much money. And we said, that’s going to take about six months, and that’s what Elon signed up for,” Vance said.

What is the row over Elon Musk stepping down?

Elon Musk's DOGE has a mandate to recommend ways to cut government expenditure by July 4, 2026. It was believed that Elon Musk and DOGE would continue to work till that time. But in a recent Fox interview, Elon Musk first revealed that DOGE is nearing its work and he will soon have his way back to his business.

🚨ICYMI: Trump speaks on the legally mandatory role transition for Elon Musk and explains that the DOGE employees are being hired into government and that the secretaries of agencies are being trained on how to do DOGE work

Watch this for more information on the Elon role shift. pic.twitter.com/40EicDDk6o

— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) April 2, 2025

At a press conference earlier this week, Donald Trump confirmed that at some point, Elon Musk will be going back to his business but he would want to keep Musk as long as he can because he's very smart, and Trump said he loves smart people. Trump then heaped praises on DOGE and said that the secretaries of agencies that worked with DOGE have received training on how to do DOGE work.

The controversy started as Elon Musk's speculated exit was seen as a fallout of the Wisconsin Supreme Court election in which the Musk-backed candidate lost.