Donald Trump Quietly Delivers the Final Blow in Elon Musk Feud Six Months After 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Drama

Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s close bond can now be considered a thing of the past, as well as the Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk was formerly involved in. 

Trump and Musk’s disagreement began when the "Big Beautiful Bill" was introduced, leading Musk to criticize the proposal and, soon after, step down from his position. 

Six months later, while tensions between the two still linger, DOGE, which was established to shrink the federal government, has now been discontinued. 

Despite Trump previously signing an executive order stating that DOGE would remain in effect until July 2026, it has now been confirmed that the agency has quietly been dissolved. 

Although the administration never formally announced its shutdown, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Scott Kupor confirmed earlier this month that the unit "doesn't exist" anymore as a “centralized entity.”

According to Kupor and documents reviewed by Reuters, the OPM has since taken over many of DOGE's former responsibilities. In DOGE's early months, it made several attempts to restructure agencies, cut budgets, and redirect operations to align with Trump's priorities.

Musk, who initially led the unit, was often seen promoting its efforts and even branded it as a “chainsaw” to symbolize cutting government jobs. DOGE also claimed massive cost savings, but outsiders could not verify these numbers due to a lack of transparent accounting.

While the unit itself is no longer operating, many of its staff have taken new roles in the government, and on the other hand, Musk has since exited his role as the top adviser to DOGE.

Musk announced his departure in May, which The Blast reported, marking the end of a short but highly publicized stint within Trump's administration.

In his resignation message posted on X, he wrote, "As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President@realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending."

Before stepping down, the tech billionaire criticized the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," arguing that the sweeping measure would increase the federal deficit and undermine the cost-cutting goals that led to DOGE's creation in the first place.

Following Musk’s exit, Trump spoke candidly about his rift with Musk over the new bill. During an Oval Office press conference in June, the commander-in-chief was asked about Musk's criticism on social media, and he hinted that their close friendship may have come to an end.

"Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore," Trump remarked, adding he was disappointed at Musk’s statement given their history. The real estate mogul insisted he had been a strong supporter of the crypto enthusiast, but accused him of abandoning ship when his interests were no longer satisfied. 

According to Trump, Musk was fully aware of the bill's details and initially raised no objections.

"All of a sudden, he had a problem - and that problem only came up when he realized we were going to cut the electric vehicle mandate, which is worth billions and billions of dollars," Trump said, per The Blast.

Not long after the U.S. leader’s remarks, Musk publicly expressed regret for his statements about him. "I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week," the billionaire wrote on X. "They went too far."

Although Musk didn't indicate which posts he meant, several of his comments about the 79-year-old politician had stirred significant controversy.

In one, he alleged that Trump's name appeared on Jeffrey Epstein's list, claiming that was "the real reason they have not been made public,” The Blast reported. In another, Musk suggested that Trump's 2024 victory was due to his own influence.

Despite his apologetic attitude, Musk quickly reignited controversy with a bold new political venture. On July 4th, he floated the idea of forming a new political party, asking his X followers whether the country needed one.

As The Blast reported, Musk called it the "America Party," arguing that Independence Day was the perfect moment to discuss freedom from the two-party system.

With the majority of his fans expressing support, he suggested the party would not need to win a large number of seats to influence national politics, only a small number of Senate seats and select key House districts.