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For six weeks, members of the Trump White House who have grown weary of Elon Musk’s disruptive style have taken solace in the fact that he serves as a temporary government employee, with a 130-day cap.
But a White House official now says there is no known end date on Musk’s tenure.
“No one here at the White House is tired of winning. The president has tasked Elon Musk with eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government, a mission that will continue until completed,” said deputy press secretary Harrison Fields.
Musk’s “special government employee” designation as leader of the Department of Government Efficiency means he isn’t subject to the same financial disclosures as full-time government employees. But it also comes with a work limit: 130 days out of a 365-day year.
Because of that time limit, questions have swirled around how long Musk can and will serve at DOGE, which has dramatically reshaped the federal government by firing thousands of government workers and demanding others justify the job performance via email.
But it’s become increasingly clear inside the White House that Musk will blow past the 130-day limit and stay around as long as President Donald Trump lets him.
“There are likely people who are counting the days until 130 days are up and will push against keeping him around, but I just think that’s a losing battle,” said an outside political adviser close to the president, granted anonymity to discuss internal dynamics.
Musk, the person said, is “here to stay.”
There has been no talk of “limits” around Musk’s role as head of DOGE, said a person closely involved in conversations at the White House granted anonymity to speak candidly about the exchanges. Everything discussed about Musk and his work going forward is done so in the long term, the person said.
Among those counting down the days and hoping for Musk’s departure are chief of staff Susie Wiles, deputy chief of staff James Blair, and director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, Sergio Gor, according to the outside political adviser.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied that characterization and called it “fake news.”
There have been hints suggesting Musk is on a short-term timetable. During a speech to the Munich Security Conference earlier this month, Vice President JD Vance acknowledged Musk’s timeline in a tongue-and-cheek remark about criticism Musk has faced.
“I say this with all humor: If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg’s scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.”
But how long Musk stays on board may be up to one man only. And despite the chafing from senior staff, there’s no clear signs of Musk-fatigue from Trump just yet.
One of the most consistent frustrations top White House staffers face with Musk is his sweeping and sporadic executive decision-making. Most recently, Wiles and her deputies were irritated and in the dark on Musk’s “five things” email that sent reverberating shock waves through government agencies. Musk issued the ultimatum to government employees without first notifying core White House staff — something he’s now done a handful of times, said the person closely involved in conversations at the White House. Musk said this week that he got the president’s approval beforehand.
Wiles is a believer in people being “team players,” which directly conflicts with the approach Musk is taking, the person said.
The temporary employee status that Musk holds was designed to allow the government to bring on specialized employees on a short-term basis. During the Obama administration, Huma Abedin was designated as a temporary State Department adviser and faced scrutiny from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for allegedly serving more than the 130-day limit. During Trump’s first term, Scott Atlas was given the status to advise Trump on pandemic-related issues.
“The concept of a special government employee is an expert consultant that comes in to give advice, but it sounds like what he is doing is far more than advice,” said Richard Briffault, a professor at Columbia Law School who has done work in government ethics. “If he’s saying to people, ‘Send me your five bullet points or you’re fired,’ that strikes me as going beyond giving advice.”
At a White House press briefing earlier this week, Leavitt dodged the question of whether the White House would attempt to “work around” the 130-day limit.
“I think we’ve been here about 35 days roughly, so ask me in another 100 days,” Leavitt said.
Exactly how Trump’s White House would circumvent the 130-day rule remains an open question, but Trump’s outside political adviser expects the administration will seek a justification.
A 2024 legal advisory from the United States Office of Government ethics details one possibility. A temporary employee who works beyond the 130-day limit due to “unforeseen circumstances” could receive approval to continue serving in the same capacity the following year if the employee’s circumstances were “unique and unlikely to occur,” according to the document.
The effect of a potential legal challenge to Musk working past his 130-day limit is untested and remains unclear. But it is unlikely Musk or Trump would be stopped by anyone in the executive branch.
“Given the fact that there is currently no head of government ethics, it’s not clear [the department] would be able to enforce a policy that says if you’ve overstayed once we doubt that you would be within the limits the next time,” Briffault said.
Trump ousted the director of the Office of Government Ethics earlier this month. It is currently under the leadership of acting Director Shelley K. Finlayson.
