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Flashback: Top five wildest moments from Elon Musk’s DOGE tenure as it comes to an end
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced his departure from DOGE on social media Wednesday after five months of viral moments and cuts that sparked both praise and controversy nationwide. Fox News Digital compiled five of the top memorable moments from that span.
Tesla photo shoot at the White House with President Trump
As Musk’s efforts to cut government waste resulted in outrage from Democrats and violent protests at Tesla dealerships across the country, along with a dip in Tesla’s stock price, President Donald Trump announced he was going to purchase a Tesla and met with Musk outside the White House to look at options.
«I’m going to buy a brand-new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American,» Trump announced.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR DOGE AFTER ELON MUSK’S DEPARTURE? ‘ONLY JUST BEGUN’
Musk announced his last day as the public face of DOGE this week. (DOGE via X/Getty)
«To Republicans, Conservatives, and all great Americans, Elon Musk is ‘putting it on the line’ in order to help our Nation, and he is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! But the Radical Left Lunatics, as they often do, are trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of the World’s great automakers, and Elon’s ‘baby,’ in order to attack and do harm to Elon, and everything he stands for,» Trump said on Truth Social.
Trump and Musk were photographed examining different Tesla models and sitting inside them.
Musk got in on the passenger side and joked about «giving the Secret Service a heart attack» as they talked about how to start a vehicle that can reach 60 miles per hour in a few seconds.
«That’s beautiful, this is a different panel . . . everything’s computer!» Trump remarked, in a comment that went viral on social media. «That’s beautiful! Wow!»
Trump told reporters that he would write a check for the car he chose, which retails for roughly $80,000, and leave it at the White House, so his staff could drive it. The president also said he hopes his purchase will boost Tesla, which was struggling with sagging sales and declining stock prices at the time.
Iron Mountain revelation
One of the most notable DOGE revelations as it scoured the government for waste, fraud, and abuse was Musk’s announcement in February that his agency was looking into a limestone mine in Pennsylvania where he said federal employee retirements are processed manually using a system that could take months.
«We’re like, well, what? Why is that? Well, because all the retirement paperwork is manual on paper,» Musk said. «It’s manually calculated and written down on a piece of paper. Then it goes down to mine and like, what do you mean, a mine?»
DOGE wrote on X that an old limestone mine in Boyers, Pennsylvania, about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh, is where about 700 workers operate more than 230 feet underground to process about 10,000 federal retirement applications per month.
The applications are processed by hand using paper, and are stored in manila envelopes and cardboard boxes, DOGE said.
The Washington Post described the facility as a «sinkhole of bureaucracy» in a 2014 article. At the time, the report said the total spending on the retirement system was $55.8 million.
«And then the speed, the limiting factor is the speed at which the mine shaft elevator can move, determines how many people can retire from the federal government,» Musk said. «And the elevator breaks down and sometimes, and then you can’t, nobody can retire. Doesn’t that sound crazy?»
‘BUREAUCRATIC AND WASTEFUL’: DOGE SNIFFS OUT EYE-POPPING SPENDING ON BIDEN DEI EFFORTS IN KEY AGENCY
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s son, «Lil X,» on the South Lawn on March 14, 2025, in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Lil X steals the show at the White House
Musk’s 4-year-old son, Æ A-12, also known as «Lil X,» was often seen accompanying his father for visits to the White House and Capitol Hill in recent months, often going viral on social media.
In February, Lil X made headlines after attending an Oval Office meeting and mimicking his father while he spoke, at one point sitting on Musk’s shoulders and putting his fingers in the former DOGE chief’s ears, and holding onto the Resolute Desk.
«This is X, and he’s a great guy. High IQ,» a chuckling Trump said, adding that the boy is a «high-IQ individual.»
In March, heartwarming photographs of Trump walking to the president’s helicopter, Marine One, with Elon Musk’s son went viral on social media, with internet users doting over the joyful moment.
Explosive interviews with ‘Big Balls’ and the DOGE team
Musk sat down with «Special Report» executive editor Bret Baier for a revealing behind-the-scenes interview with members of his team earlier in March and offered previously unseen glimpses into the work being done.
Musk, along with DOGE members Steve Davis, Joe Gebbia, Aram Moghaddassi, Brad Smith, Anthony Armstrong, Tom Krause and Tyler Hassen, illustrated key efforts of the department to achieve Trump’s goal. Davis brought up federal credit cards, which he labeled a «mundane» but «illustrative» example of DOGE’s work.
TOP 5 MOST OUTRAGEOUS WAYS THE GOVERNMENT HAS WASTED YOUR TAXES, AS UNCOVERED BY ELON MUSK’S DOGE
President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk depart after looking at Tesla vehicles on the South Lawn of the White House on March 11, 2025, in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
«There are in the federal government around 4.6 million credit cards for around 2.3 to 2.4 million employees. This doesn’t make sense. So one of the things all of the teams have worked on is we’ve worked for the agencies and said, ‘Do you need all of these credit cards? Are they being used? Can you tell us physically where they are?’» Davis explained.
«Clearly there should not be more credit cards than there are people,» Musk responded.
The eight-man group also discussed DOGE’s work relating to the federal workforce, financial management, government infrastructure, computer systems, Social Security and more.
«They may characterize it as shooting from the hip, but it is anything but that,» Musk said, noting that the agency’s approach to cuts is to «measure twice, if not thrice, and cut once.»
Earlier this month, Musk and his team gave a second revealing interview to «Jesse Watters Primetime,» outlining examples of waste they had discovered in government.
As the team shared cases of wasteful spending from top departments to smaller agencies, Watters asked how the findings made Musk and the DOGE members feel.
«Unfortunately, like the 100th time you’ve heard it, it’s hard not to get a little numb, and by the 200th time, you’re like, well, OK, it was just another day at the office,» Musk replied.
One DOGE member, who joined Musk on «Jesse Watters Primetime,» revealed that he had dropped out of Harvard University to «serve my country,» but faced backlash.
«It’s been unfortunate to see lost friendships. Most of campus hates me now, but I think, fundamentally, I hope people realize through conversations like this that reform is genuinely needed,» he said.
In the interview, 19-year-old DOGE team member Edward Coristine revealed how he got the nickname «Big Balls,» which had received significant chatter online.
Coristine went on to say that the system that distributes government or taxpayer money «literally has no checks and no accountability to the actual American taxpayer.»
«So, it’s a huge vector for fraud, waste, and abuse.»
Dismantling of USAID
Out of the many agencies that experienced cuts during Musk’s time at DOGE, USAID was perhaps the most discussed and most affected by DOGE’s findings.
In March, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that 83% of USAID programs would be canceled following the conclusion of a six-week review by DOGE.
In total, 5,200 contracts were to be terminated, Rubio wrote on X, announcing the new reforms. He said the canceled contracts amounted to «tens of billions of dollars» being spent «in ways that did not serve,» or even harmed, the national interests of the U.S.
Rubio added that the remaining 18% of USAID programs—approximately 1,000—would now be managed by the State Department. The move to transfer that authority, he said, was made in consultation with Congress.
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Then-White House Senior Advisor Elon Musk walks to the White House after landing in Marine One on the South Lawn on March 9, 2025, in Washington. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Several examples of questionable spending were made public by DOGE, including where Biden’s USAID awarded $20 million to a nonprofit called Sesame Workshop to produce a show called «Ahlan Simsim Iraq» in an effort to «promote inclusion, mutual respect and understanding across ethnic, religious and sectarian groups.»
More than $900,000 went to a «Gaza-based terror charity,» called Bayader Association for Environment and Development, and $1.5 million went to a program slated to «advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.»
Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel, Stephen Sorace and Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Congressional Democrats are trying to get on the same page and display a unified front after threatening to derail the government funding process.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., met behind closed doors Tuesday night, along with the top Democrats in the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, to plot a course forward in the forthcoming government funding fight.
SENATE WEATHERS DEM OPPOSITION, ADVANCES FIRST GOVERNMENT FUNDING BILL
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., turns to an aide during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The meeting came after Democrats in the upper chamber overwhelmingly supported the first government funding bill to hit the Senate floor, one that would fund military construction and Veterans Affairs. Ahead of the vote, Senate Democrats had signaled they may vote against the bill and further obstruct the appropriations process because of highly partisan legislation rammed through the upper chamber by Senate Republicans.
«We all want to pursue a bipartisan, bicameral appropriations process,» Schumer said. «That’s how it’s always been done, successfully, and we believe that, however, the Republicans are making it extremely difficult to do that.»
The meeting just off the Senate floor was meant to get congressional Democrats on board with a messaging plan over the next weeks and months ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline to fund the government.
CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS FACE BRUISING BATTLE TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is seen after the Senate luncheons in the U.S. Capitol on June 24, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
It was also likely designed to prevent a repeat of the Democratic debacle in March, when Schumer broke with Jeffries and threatened to shutter the government before ultimately caving and providing Republicans the votes necessary to advance yet another government funding extension, known as a continuing resolution.
Republicans are quick to point out that when Schumer led the upper chamber, none of the House GOP’s spending bills made it to the floor — in Congress, the spending process begins in the lower chamber.
Since taking over earlier this year, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has committed to returning to regular order, or passing each of the dozen spending bills to fund the government, and trying to get the appropriations process back to normal.
However, it’s a feat that hasn’t been successfully done in Washington since the late 1990s.
«Frankly, I think a lot of us around here think [this] is long overdue,» Thune said.
However, Democrats contend that their trust in Republicans is wearing thin after two major partisan bills, one being President Donald Trump’s «big, beautiful bill,» and the other the president’s $9 billion clawback package, were pushed through the chamber without any Democratic input.
‘BAIT AND SWITCH’: SCHUMER WARNS OF BITTER FUNDING FIGHT OVER GOP CUTS PLAN
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 6, 2025. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Thune argued that Senate Democrats were using the rescissions package to shut down the appropriations process and effectively shut down the government.
In the Senate, most bills that come to the floor require at least 60 votes to smash through the filibuster, meaning that most legislation requires bipartisan support to some extent.
Earlier this year, the House GOP produced a partisan government funding extension that was a tough pill for Senate Democrats to swallow, but they still ultimately opted to vote for it. This time around, they’re demanding more involvement in the process.
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Jeffries said that congressional Democrats would play ball if the process was «bipartisan and bicameral in nature» and put the onus of a partial government shutdown at the feet of congressional Republicans.
«House Republicans are, in fact, marching us toward a possible government shutdown that will hurt the American people,» he said.
However, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., threw the responsibility on Democrats over whether the government would shutter or stay open come the end of September.
«They’re gaming out how they can shut the government down,» Johnson told Bloomberg Government.
INTERNACIONAL
Ucrania: el presidente Volodimir Zelenski enfrenta críticas y protestas por una nueva ley anticorrupción
Advertencia de funcionarios de la UE
El presidente ucraniano, Volodimir Zelenski, convocó a los jefes de todas las agencias de investigación y de lucha contra la corrupción del país. Foto EFENegociaciones en Estambul
Ucrania,Volodímir Zelenski,Rusia,Guerra Rusia-Ucrania
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Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with Israeli and Qatari officials in Rome on Thursday as the U.S. pushes for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Hamas and Israel are engaging in indirect negotiations to end the war that has raged on for nearly two years. However, Witkoff’s itinerary depends on the progress made in the talks. If the parties make enough progress in Rome, Witkoff will reportedly travel to Doha to finalize the deal, according to Axios.
The outlet also reported that sources indicated the meeting in Rome could suggest that a deal is near — possibly just days away.
Earlier this month, Israel agreed to a U.S.-backed, 60-day ceasefire proposal that would lead to the end of the war. This deal includes a phased release of hostages, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of Gaza and talks on ending the conflict, according to Reuters.
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with Israeli and Qatari officials in Rome on Thursday to secure a deal to end the war in Gaza. (Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu/Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
ISRAEL, HAMAS TALKS DRAG AS AID GROUP CHAIR TELLS UN TO STOP ACTING LIKE THE ‘MAFIA’
«My representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the war. The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring peace, will deliver this final proposal. I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this deal because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,» President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on July 1.
President Donald Trump holds a bilateral dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in attendance, at the White House in Washington, D.C., July 7, 2025. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
ISRAEL ACCEPTS TRUMP-LED CEASEFIRE PLAN THAT COULD END GAZA WAR WITHIN 60 DAYS
Trump appeared optimistic about the possibility of Israel and Hamas reaching a deal to end the war. On July 16, while signing the HALT Fentanyl Act, Trump thanked Witkoff, praising him for doing «a fantastic job» and said that there was «some good news on Gaza,» though he did not elaborate.
From left to right, Foreign Affairs Minister of Bahrain Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump and Foreign Affairs Minister of the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan participate in the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 15, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
TRUMP PRESSURES ISRAEL TO END GAZA CONFLICT AS HE EYES ABRAHAM ACCORDS EXPANSION
If Trump can secure an end to the war, it could mean an expansion of the Abraham Accords, one of the signature efforts of Trump’s first administration, which saw Israel sign normalization agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. However, Trump has yet to detail which countries would be added.
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar said on June 30 that Israel was «serious» about seeking an end to the conflict. He added that Jerusalem has an interest in «countries, such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbors, to the circle of peace and normalization.»
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Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
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