‘Elon Musk will be stepping back,' Donald Trump tells members of cabinet: Report
Some Trump administration members and the president's allies are said to be frustrated with Musk and view him as a “political liability”.
US President Donald Trump has told members of his cabinet and other close aides that Elon Musk will be soon “stepping back” from his role in the government.
According to a Politico report, Trump is pleased with the billionaire tycoon and his efforts in the Department of Government Efficiency (OGE). But both have decided that it will soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a “supporting role”, Trump insiders told the website on condition of anonymity.
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Some Trump administration members and the president's allies are said to be frustrated with Musk and view him as a “political liability”.
The development comes after voters in Wisconsin elected a liberal judge to the state's Supreme Court, despite his billionaire advisor Elon Musk pouring millions into the race to sway the polls.
Susan Crawford soundly defeated Trump-backed Brad Schimel with more than 95 percent of the vote tallied, AFP quoted the US media.
"Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price," Crawford said in her victory speech after the most expensive judicial contest in US history.
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According to the Politico report, a senior government official said that Elon Musk is likely to retain an “informal role” as an adviser and continue to “be an occasional face” around the White House grounds.
Another official cautioned that anyone who thinks Musk is going to disappear entirely from Trump’s orbit is “fooling themselves.”
According to the insiders, the transition is likely to correspond to the end of Musk's tenure as a “special government employee."
What Musk defenders in Trump administration said
According to the defenders of Musk inside the Trump administration, the time is right for a transition, as there is only so much he can “cut from government agencies without shaving too close to the bone.”
On March 24, Trump at a cabinet meeting said that Musk would be “transitioning out of the administration." The president
“Elon, I want to thank you — I know you’ve been through a lot,” Trump had said.
He mentioned death threats and the spate of vandalism directed at the cars built by Tesla before calling him “a patriot” and “a friend of mine.”
“At some point Elon’s going to want to go back to his company. He wants to. I’d keep him as long as I could keep him,” Politico quoted Trump as saying.
