Vance says Musk will remain Trump adviser after leaving DOGE, amid speculation on DOGE boss's future

Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that Elon Musk, the unofficial leader of the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, would continue to advise President Donald Trump and Vance after leaving his temporary appointment. 

During an interview with Fox News, Vance said Musk has always planned to leave DOGE after "about six months."

"That's what Elon signed up for, but of course, he's gonna continue being an adviser," Vance said.

He also said that the work of the department and Musk "is not even close to done," referring to "fraudulent grants" and "people who are 150 years old, who are fraudulently collecting Social Security payments" that were discovered by the department.

On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Musk would leave his government job and return to the private sector, while also criticizing Politico's recent report that appeared to suggest Musk leaving was new information.

"This ‘scoop’ is garbage," Leavitt wrote on X. "Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete." 

The recent news came after the debate over the DOGE's rapid slashing of the federal government, with critics saying that Musk and his workers are removing allegedly necessary parts of the government and supporters praising the department for reportedly saving American taxpayers billions of dollars.