White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared game-changing news about DOGE in a press conference, confirming that the agency’s work will continue after Elon Musk’s departure, explaining what will happen to the agency’s employees, and clarifying that President Trump is ultimately the head of DOGE, supported by the members of his Cabinet in its mission of rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse within the federal government.
For context, during a press conference on May 29, 2025, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will continue following the departure of the agency’s former head, Elon Musk. Leavitt confirmed that the agency will now be led by President Donald Trump himself, emphasizing that the president and his entire Cabinet are determined to continue DOGE’s mission.
During the press conference, Leavitt said that “the entire Cabinet is involved” in DOGE’s future and its ongoing mission, adding, “I spoke to the president about it this morning, and the entire cabinet understands the need to cut government waste, fraud, and abuse, and each cabinet secretary at their respective agencies is committed to that.”
Continuing, Leavitt said that the Trump Administration’s mission of reducing fraud, waste, and abuse was why government agencies were “working hand-in-hand with Elon Musk,” adding, “And they’ll continue to work with the respective DOGE employees who have onboarded as political appointees at all of these agencies.” She went on to say, “So, surely the mission of DOGE will continue, and many DOGE employees are now political appointees and employees of our government.”
Next, the press secretary was asked by a journalist, “Is there a DOGE leader taking the place of Mr. Musk?” to which Leavitt replied that the de facto leader of DOGE was President Trump, along with the members of his Cabinet, saying, “Again, the DOGE leaders are each and every member of the president’s Cabinet and the president himself.”
In addition, on May 30, 2025, President Trump expressed his gratitude to Mr. Musk for his leadership of DOGE and echoed Leavitt’s statements, telling reporters, “I just want to thank Elon and all of his people. Most of those people are staying. Almost all of them are staying, and they’re going to be with us, and you’re going to see the results come in long into the future.”
Continuing, President Trump said that within a few years of DOGE’s initial efforts to reduce government waste, there would be a payoff “in the hundreds of billions of dollars,” adding, “They’re going to be adding up and they’re going to continue to add. It’ll be a change.” He went on to say that Mr. Musk “gave an incredible service,” calling Elon “an incredible patriot.”
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Next, the president presented Elon with a ceremonial key to the White House, saying, “I thought I’d give it to Elon as a presentation (sic) from our country. Thank you, Elon, take care of yourself.” In response, Elon said, “This is not the end of DOGE, but really the beginning. My time as a special government employee had to end…the DOGE influence will only grow stronger. I’d liken it to a sort of…Buddhism. It’s like a way of life.”
Watch Leavitt explain DOGE’s future:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video