Trump says 'Elon is not really leaving' as Musk's White House contract ends
4 months ago
15
Live Reporting
Edited by Jacqueline Howard and Brandon Livesay, with
Gary O'Donoghue and Bernd Debusmann Jr reporting from the White House
Trump ends press conferencepublished at 19:58 British Summer Time
19:58 BST
The press conference has now wrapped up. Just before it did, a reporter asked about Trump’s tariffs, which could also impact Elon Musk’s Tesla.
"Well, he’s going to end up building this whole car here," Trump said.
Trump then repeated his point that if people build cars in the US, he will give them "a little leeway".
"We want Americans to buy American built cars," he says.
Trump says Harvard funding freeze is not a Doge initiativepublished at 19:51 British Summer Time
19:51 BST
Trump says he wants international students in the US, but just not ones who he says are "causing trouble".
He says the US government gives Harvard University about $5 billion and says the government is finding new money to cut each time Harvard sues to stop the freezing of funds.
He turns to Musk and says this was not a Doge initiative, but a "Trump thing".
Trump says he wants that money to be given trade schools.
He says the government has to act fast and be nimble.
Trump is also asked why he thinks Musk, and the work he has done, has become so politicised.
But president references previous work Musk has done in the private sector and talks of the "different companies" he has set up.
He references internet services company Starlink and the work done in North Carolina which "saved a lot of lives".
It appears Trump is referencing Hurricane Helene here.
For context: In September 2024, during the Biden administration, Trump claimed that a phone call to Musk prompted the deployment of Starlink Systems to North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The White House later said that the deployments were already happening following an arrangement between the administration and the White House - and sent a press release stating the same.
Musk suggests Doge could hang around longer than expectedpublished at 19:35 British Summer Time
19:35 BST
Taking more questions from press, Musk says the president may choose to extend the official end date of Doge, which is July of next year.
He also claims the advisory board has become like a "bogeyman" for federal cuts.
"If there were any cuts anywhere, people would assume that was done by Doge," he said.
Musk has achieved one key thing - a heap of Trump praisepublished at 19:33 British Summer Time
19:33 BST
Gary O'Donoghue Chief North America correspondent, reporting from the White House
Image source, Gett
Interesting how Elon Musk is pulling back from his previous criticism of Congress and others, over difficulties he faced doing the work of Doge.
Now he's saying it's "mostly just hard work" when asked who was to blame for standing in his way.
He says the trillion dollars of savings will happen, but with the key caveat that it will take place "over time". It's not clear just how much time.
Musk has achieved one key thing - most people who leave the Trump orbit do so after a row or after incurring the president's wrath.
Musk is getting a whole heap of praise - and a gold key in a box, so that's something.
Musk says he will remain at 'the President's service'published at 19:31 British Summer Time
19:31 BST
Musk is asked what his future advisory role with Doge would look like.
He says he expects to continue to provide advice "whenever the President would like".
"I hope so," Trump replies.
Musk says if there's anything Trump wants him to do, he's "at the President's service".
He is then asked what was the "biggest roadblock" to achieving cuts.
Musk says it's mostly just a lot of hard work, going through the "vast expenses" of federal government and asking what certain money is for, and whether it's being used well.
"Many times we can't find anyone who defends [some expenses]," Musk tells the news conference.
Did Doge quash ‘Arab Sesame Street’?published at 19:29 British Summer Time
19:29 BST
Mike Wendling
Image source, Getty Images
In praising the work of Doge, President Trump ran down a typical mismash of fact and spin.
He claims that Elon Musk has stopped "fraud-slash-waste",
but there’s little evidence of any criminal activity.
One of the examples Trump just cited is what he called a $20
million dollar grant to "Arab Sesame Street".
It appears that the grant from the US Agency for International
Development (USAID) – one of the top Doge targets - was for an early childhood
development progamme in Iraq. There’s a TV show which shares a name with that
programme that uses Sesame Street characters.
Fact-checkers at the website Snopes have delved into the detail, external and have found that the White House likely conflated the development
programme and the TV show. It’s also unclear exactly how much money was paid
out.
But in one sense, fact-checking is beside the point here. Trump,
Musk and their supporters point to this programme and others like them and broadly
claim it’s common sense to consider them wastes of American taxpayer funds. They
don’t seem to worry too much about the exact details.
Their opponents will point to the positive work that USAID has done around the world.
Musk asked about allegations of drug usepublished at 19:24 British Summer Time
19:24 BST
Musk takes a question from a journalist in the room - and it's about the New York Times report which suggests he was using drugs heavily while on the campaign trail with Trump.
Musk responds by citing a recent judgement against the New York Times regarding reporting on "Russiagate".
"That New York Times?" Musk says.
"Let's move on."
For context: The reference is in regard to a judge's decision earlier this week that Trump can proceed with a defamation case against the Washington Post and New York Times for their reporting on alleged connections between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia.
The questions in the room regarding the New York Times were coming from a reporter for Fox News, who is a member of today's "pool" alongside conservative TV outlet Newsmax, newspapers the Hill and Wall Street Journal, ABC Radio and a handful of photographers.
Today's pool also includes a "new media" outlet, a Texas-based conservative news outlet.
Trump gives Musk a large gold keypublished at 19:21 British Summer Time
19:21 BST
Media caption,
Watch: President Trump gives Elon Musk a large gold key
Trump presents Musk with a large golden key inside a wooden box, saying it's something he only gives to "special people" as a thank you from the country.
"This is not the end of the Doge but really the beginning," he says.
He emphasised that though his time as a government employee is coming to an end, Doge will carry on. He says he expects there will soon be a trillion dollars in government savings.
Doge's running total of estimated savings puts that figure around $175bn as of 26 May, but BBC analysis found only about a quarter of that had a link to a document or other form of evidence.
Musk says he will continue to advise Trumppublished at 19:20 British Summer Time
19:20 BST
Image source, Getty Images
"I’ll continue to be visiting here and be a friend and advisor of the president," Musk says.
He then spends a moment admiring the Oval Office, especially the 24k gold-plated eagle on the ceiling.
How much has Doge really saved?published at 19:18 British Summer Time
19:18 BST
By Lucy Gilder
As Elon Musk bows out of his role at Doge (the Department of Government Efficiency), BBC Verify has looked at how much it has claimed to have cut from US spending.
Last year, Musk pledged to cut "at least $2 trillion" from federal government spending, but more recently he halved this target and talked about making savings of $150bn by the end of the next financial year in 2026.
We downloaded the data from the website on 30 May and our analysis found that less than half ($73.3bn) of the headline figure is broken down into itemised savings and only around a quarter ($44.1bn) had a link to a document or other form of evidence.
Doge says it is working to upload all receipts in a "digestible and transparent manner”.
BBC Verify has also spoken to contract experts who raised questions about the validity of some of Doge’s biggest claimed individual savings.
No surprises in the Oval Office so farpublished at 19:17 British Summer Time
19:17 BST
Bernd Debusmann Jr Reporting from the White House
While Trump has lavished a bit of praise on Musk - much of the speech so far has been comprised of familiar talking points that are often made by the President.
His various mentions include encouraging countries to negotiate on trade, tariffs, and he speaks of the US economy. He claims that the US eliminated ISIS in his first term. These are all things that come up with some regularity.
There are so far no surprises from today's Oval Office event.
'Elon is really not leaving,' Trump sayspublished at 19:15 British Summer Time
19:15 BST
Image source, Reuters
Trump turns now to his "big, beautiful bill" which Musk criticised only days ago - saying he felt it undermined the work he had done to reduce spending.
Today, the US president says that "some" of the cuts he has listed will sit under the bill, although "most" will come later.
As for Doge itself, Trump tells reporters many of those working in the department are staying on.
He also has a "feeling", he adds, that Musk is "really not leaving" but will be "back and forth".
"It's his baby," he says.
It echoes comments he made on Truth Social - "This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us," Trump posted yesterday.
Trump lists some of Doge's actionspublished at 19:12 British Summer Time
19:12 BST
Donald Trump says Musk has led to countless wasteful and unnecessary contracts being terminated, and many more are now under review.
He says that in maybe six months or almost a year, the US government will go through procedures to deal with these contracts.
The US president then lists some projects and how much he says has been saved by cancelling them. The BBC has previously debunked some of these claims. We'll bring you more on that from our BBC Verify colleagues shortly.
A glowing Trump tribute for Muskpublished at 19:10 British Summer Time
19:10 BST
Gary O'Donoghue Chief North America correspondent, reporting from the White House
Image source, Reuter
A glowing tribute from the president at the outset - calling Musk the greatest businessman the world has ever produced, says Donald Trump.
Musk is standing to his right, arms folded - his t-shirt reads "doge father". It looks like there's a bruise over his right eye.
Trump praises Musk for changing the 'mindset' of senior ranks in governmentpublished at 19:08 British Summer Time
19:08 BST
Trump says Elon Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) have found "things that are unbelievably stupid and unbelievably bad".
He says Musk has made a "colossal change" in how things are being done in Washington.
"The mindset in the senior ranks in every federal department has really changed," Trump said.
For context: After Doge's cuts, federal agencies have been largely unable to hire further staff and programmes deemed non-essential - particularly those focused internationally - have been cut.
'Our government is a little nasty,' Trump sayspublished at 19:01 British Summer Time
19:01 BST
Image source, Reuters
The event begins with President Trump saying Musk did a "fantastic job".
"Our government is a little nasty on occasion," Trump then says. "Yeah at times," Musk responds.
Trump then says he's going to play a video about the stock market.
There's a laptop in front of him with the screen facing the camera. It plays a segment from US broadcaster CNBC talking about the stock market being up.
For context: Trump often claims that tariffs will lead to improved personal finances for American households - although economists don't all agree.
Trump-Musk press conference beginspublished at 18:57 British Summer Time
18:57 BSTBreaking
The press conference is beginning.
We'll be bringing you the main lines here and you can also follow along by clicking Watch Live at the top of this page.
What is the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge)?published at 18:40 British Summer Time
18:40 BST
Despite its full name, Doge is not an official government department, which can only be established by an act of Congress.
Instead, it's an advisory body which was created by an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump.
Part of Doge's mission, according to the order, relates to IT upgrades aimed at boosting efficiency. It must finish its work by July 2026.
Many Doge staff appear to be young people with tech backgrounds and limited or no government experience.
Musk said Doge's mission was to end the "tyranny of the bureaucracy", save taxpayers' money and reduce US national debt, which stands at $36tn (£28.9tn).
The organisation's activities have included shuttering government agencies, defunding programmes and mass layoffs.
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4 months ago
15
Gary O'Donoghue
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Gett
Mike Wendling
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuter
Image source, Reuters
