US President Donald Trump hosts a grand Oval Office farewell for Elon Musk on Friday as the world’s richest man ends his turbulent reign as the government’s cost cutter-in-chief.
The pair will hold a joint press conference at 1.30pm local time, with Trump attempting to put a positive spin on Musk’s departure from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after just four months.
Trump, 78, praised the “terrific” Musk on Thursday and insisted that his influence would continue despite the South African-born tech tycoon returning to his Space X and Tesla companies.
“This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
Vice President JD Musk praised Musk’s “incredible” job in an interview with Newsmax and vowed that “the DOGE effort will continue.”
But the news conference will be a far cry from Musk’s first dramatic appearance in the Oval Office in February, when he brought his young son with him and outshone even the attention-seeking president himself.
At the time the 53-year-old was almost inseparable from Trump, glued to his side on Air Force One, Marine One, in the White House and at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Yet Musk is now leaving Trump’s administration under a cloud, after openly admitting disillusionment with his role, and criticizing the Republican president’s spending plans.
