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Musk officially steps down from DOGE after wrapping work streamlining government
Elon Musk is beginning the process of stepping down from his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO posted on X on Wednesday night that his time as a special government employee is coming to an end and thanked President Donald Trump for the opportunity to cut down on wasteful spending.
«The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government,» Musk wrote in his post. The White House confirmed to FOX that Musk’s post is accurate and offboarding will begin Wednesday night.
Musk has been the public face of DOGE since Trump signed an executive order establishing the office on Jan. 20. DOGE has since ripped through federal government agencies in a quest to identify and end government overspending, corruption and fraud.
ELON MUSK SAYS HE ‘FULLY ENDORSES’ TRUMP AFTER GUNFIRE AT PENNSYLVANIA RALLY
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has officially stepped down from his role helping lead DOGE, which had long been the plan as a special government employee. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
He was officially hired as a «special government employee,» which is a role Congress created in 1962 that allows the executive or legislative branch to hire temporary employees for specific short-term initiatives.
Special government employees are permitted to work for the federal government for «no more than 130 days in a 365-day period,» according to data from the Office of Government Ethics. Musk’s 130-day timeframe, beginning on Inauguration Day, was set to run dry on May 30.
DOGE is a temporary cross-departmental organization that was established to slim down and streamline the federal government. The group itself will be dissolved on July 4, 2026, according to Trump’s executive order.
Musk and Trump have both previously previewed that Musk’s role was temporary and would end in the spring.
«You, technically, are a special government employee and you’re supposed to be 130 days,» Fox News’ Bret Baier asked Musk during an exclusive interview with Musk and DOGE team members in April. «Are you going to continue past that or do you think that’s what you’re going to do?»
MUSK NOT LEAVING YET, WRAPPING UP WORK ON SCHEDULE ONCE ‘INCREDIBLE WORK AT DOGE IS COMPLETE’: WHITE HOUSE
Elon Musk was hired as a special government employee, which only permits 130 days of employment, when he was chosen to lead DOGE. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
«I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that timeframe,» Musk responded.
Trump hinted at Musk’s departure in comments to reporters on March 31 when he was asked if he wants Musk to remain in a government role for longer than the predetermined 130 days.
«I think he’s amazing. But I also think he’s got a big company to run,» Trump said in March. «And so at some point he’s going to be going back.»
«I’d keep him as long as I can keep him,» Trump said. «He’s a very talented guy. You know, I love very smart people. He’s very smart. And he’s done a good job,» the president added. «DOGE is, we’ve found numbers that nobody can even believe.»
More recently, Musk said during a Tesla earnings call on April 22 that he will take a step back from his work as DOGE’s leader.
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«I think starting probably in next month, May, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly,» Musk said during Tesla’s earnings conference call. «I’ll have to continue doing it for, I think, the remainder of the president’s term just to make sure the waste and fraud that we stopped does not come roaring back, which it will do if it has the chance. So I think I’ll continue to spend, you know, a day or two per week on government matters for as long as the president would like me to do so and as long as it is useful.»
Elon Musk jumps on state as he joins former president Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
«But starting next month,» he added, «I’ll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla now that the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency is done.»
Amid Musk’s work with DOGE, Democrats and activists have staged protests against the tech billionaire and his companies, including working to tank Tesla stocks.
Musk has been the public face of DOGE for months, but is not an employee of the United States DOGE Service and does not report to the acting DOGE chief, according to a court filing in March that shed additional light on the internal workings of the office.
WHO IS DOGE’S NEWLY IDENTIFIED ADMINISTRATOR AMY GLEASON? ‘WORLD-CLASS TALENT’
«Elon Musk does not work at USDS. I do not report to him, and he does not report to me. To my knowledge, he is a Senior Advisor to the White House,» Amy Gleason, the acting administrator of DOGE, wrote in a declaration included in a court filing.
President Trump has spoken highly of Elon Musk’s work with DOGE since he was chosen to lead the new agency on Jan. 20. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Gleason previously worked for the United States Digital Service, which was founded in 2014 by former President Barack Obama as a technology office within the Executive Office of the President. Trump signed an executive order in January that renamed the office to the United States DOGE Service, establishing DOGE.
Though Musk has been the public face of DOGE, he «has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself» and is working as a senior advisor to the president, a White House official said in a separate court filing back in February.
SENATE REPUBLICAN DOGE LEADER JONI ERNST FACES FIRST DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGER IN 2026 RACE
Musk emerged as an ardent supporter of Trump at the height of the election cycle over the summer, officially endorsing Trump after the first assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
President Trump survived an assassination attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania in July. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)
«I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,» Musk posted to X shortly after the attempt, accompanied by footage of Trump raising a fist and shouting «Fight, fight, fight!» after he was left bloodied by the assassination attempt.
Musk hosted Trump on X for an expansive interview while on the campaign trail
Across Musk’s tenure as a special government employee, Trump has praised the tech billionaire for his efforts to streamline the government and cut it of overspending, including during his first address to a joint session of Congress since his second inauguration.
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«Thank you, Elon. He’s working very hard. He didn’t need this. He didn’t need this. Thank you very much. We appreciate it. Everybody here, even this side, appreciates it, I believe. They just don’t want to admit that,» Trump said in March during his address, quipping that Democrats were even grateful for Musk’s work at DOGE.
Elon Musk,DOGE,Donald Trump,Politics
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Obama dragged for ‘headache’-inducing presidential center update that has visitors squinting
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Former President Barack Obama’s presidential center in Chicago is again coming under scrutiny for its architectural design — this time leaving locals scratching their heads over confusing text wrapped around the top of the building.
«I’m outside the Obama Center museum tower right now,» Chicago Sun-Times architecture critic Lee Bay posted to X Monday, sparking a deluge of mockery from locals and conservatives.
«The new letters — an excerpt from Obama’s Selma speech — are tough read to me, giving off the lorem ipsum vibes,» he added, referring to placeholder «dummy» text frequently used in graphic design templates to fill space with scrambled Latin.
Obama’s presidential center — which includes a library, athletic facilities, a museum and more — is slated to open in June after years of delays that included lawsuits and federal reviews of opening the 20-acre campus on Chicago’s South Side.
OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER SLAMMED FOR PROMOTING ‘FAR-LEFT’ AGENDA ON PUBLIC LAND
The text of former President Obama’s speech marking the 50th anniversary of «Bloody Sunday» in Selma, Alabama, is wrapped around the side of the upcoming presidential center in Chicago. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The construction includes a 225-foot museum tower with the text of Obama’s 2015 speech in Selma, Alabama, marking the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when civil rights demonstrators were met with violent resistance from local law enforcement in a watershed moment that helped galvanize support for the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER JOB LISTINGS PUSH ‘ANTI-RACISM’ PLEDGE AHEAD OF OPENING
The text of Obama’s speech, inscribed on the upper echelon of the tower, reads: «You are America. Unconstrained by habit and convention. Unencumbered by what is, ready to seize what ought to be. For everywhere in this country, there are first steps to be taken, there is new ground to cover, there are more bridges to be crossed. America is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘We.’ ‘We The People.’ ‘We Shall Overcome.’ ‘Yes We Can.’ That word is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours.»
Critics of the building had a field day on X in response to the building update, including one user comparing it to a «Klingon prison» in a nod to «Star Trek,» while others lampooned the alleged inability to read the text of the building.
«What don’t you understand about,» Targeted Victory vice president Logan Dobson posted. «YOU ARE AMERICA ED BY HABILAND UNENCUMBERED ADY TO SEIZE WE,» he continued, mocking the confusing lay out of the text.
OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER BREAKS SILENCE OVER CONTROVERSIAL BUILDING DESIGN
Former President Barack Obama’s presidential center in Chicago is facing mounting scrutiny over a speech inscription on the building that has left viewers confused. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
«The dyslexic in me is not amused,» journalist and columnist Salena Zito posted.
«He put his own speech on the outside of his library?» one user posted. «Find yourself someone who loves you like Obama loves himself.»
«I gave up after developing a headache three lines from the top,» one user posted.
PROTESTERS RAGED, CRITICS MOCKED — NOW OBAMA SAYS HIS LIBRARY’S ACTUALLY OPENING
«It looks like a WW2-era German anti-aircraft tower,» another posted.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama gives her remarks during the groundbreaking ceremony of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Sept. 28, 2021. (Sebastian Hidalgo/Reuters)
«I noticed when I was in the air that the sentences wrap around the west and south sides of the building, and looks decent in a very specific spot on the ground or very good from the air…but like that’s not an ideal design in my opinion,» a Chicago photojournalist posted to X.
Other users didn’t take issue with the campus itself, but remarked how the construction is gentrifying the South Side.
«It actually does look good,» one user posted. «Love or hate the guy, at least the presidential library will have a nice park for people to walk through. I get the whole blue vs red thing. But right now the main problem seems to be the gentrification and house price increases in the neighbourhood.»
The main tower of the Obama Presidential Center rises above Jackson Park in Chicago as construction continues on the privately run campus. (Fox 32 Chicago)
The text inscription was preparing for installation at the end of 2025, according to the Obama Foundation’s website.
«At the Museum Building, crews are preparing support structures ahead of the installation of screen text taken from President Obama’s speech «You Are America,» which marked the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches,» the Obama Foundation said in its year-end recap on construction for 2025.
The Obama Foundation has celebrated the center repeatedly since it was first announced more than a decade ago, describing it ahead of its opening as «a lively community hub, economic anchor, and beacon of democracy right here on the South Side of Chicago.»
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The campus has come under scrutiny from locals over gentrification concerns and over its Brutalist-style of architecture, a post-war-era style popularized in the 1950s known for its modular and minimalist designs. For locals in Chicago, they’ve dubbed the building the «The Obamalisk,» according to the New York Post, in a jab at the Brutalist-inspired design.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Obama Foundation for additional comment Tuesday morning.
barack obama,michelle obama,white house,chicago
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Italy cheers faith and flag in Milan after Paris’ ‘woke’ Olympic spectacle sparked culture clash, experts say
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Paris and Milan-Cortina delivered two sharply different Olympic spectacles, one that ignited culture-war backlash and another that leaned into heritage and national pride, a contrast some observers say mirrors the political paths of Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni.
Olympic opening ceremonies rank among the world’s most-watched cultural broadcasts, making them powerful stages for nations to project how they see themselves and how they want to be seen. «Paris tried to reinterpret tradition. Milan showcased tradition,» Hugh Dugan, an Olympic Truce advocate and former U.S. diplomat, told Fox News Digital, framing the contrast between the ceremonies as part of a broader debate over the role of culture, politics and identity in the Games.
Dugan described the 2024 Paris ceremony as «a deliberately disruptive, decentralized, urban spectacle… visually bold but polarizing,» built around a narrative collage of modern France, diversity and reinterpretation of history. He said choreography and costuming «often carried explicit social commentary,» fueling debate over whether parts of the ceremony were intentionally provocative or ideologically driven.
OLYMPICS INTERNATIONAL SKATING UNION DEFENDS CONTROVERSIAL OLYMPIC JUDGING THAT DENIED AMERICANS ICE DANCE GOLD MEDAL
The Trocadero venue while the delegations arrive, in Paris, during the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics, July 26, 2024. (Francois-Xavier Marit/Pool Photo via AP)
The 2024 Paris opening ceremony, staged along the Seine, sparked controversy after a segment widely interpreted as referencing Leonardo da Vinci’s «Last Supper» drew criticism from Christian groups and conservative commentators before organizers clarified the intent and apologized for any offense.
The moment became a flashpoint in France’s wider culture-war debate over identity, religion and the meaning of public symbolism. The Conversation reported that the ceremony triggered a national discussion over «woke ideology» and France’s cultural direction.
Some of the performers who appeared in the Last Supper depiction in the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony. (Tingshu Wang/Reuters)
Emma Schubart, a research fellow at the U.K.-based Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital, «The Olympics have become a stage for cultural politics as much as sport.»
She continued, «President Emmanuel Macron’s France leaned into progressive, ‘woke’ politics and post-national symbolism, while Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Italy emphasized heritage, tradition and unapologetic national pride. These aesthetic choices reflect a widening divide over Europe’s cultural and political future.»
Flagbearers Arianna Fontana and Federico Pellegrino of Team Italy walk in the parade during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics at San Siro Stadium on Feb. 6, 2026, in Milan, Italy. (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
Dugan praised the Italian games, saying the Milan-Cortina Winter Games ceremony highlighted «tradition, harmony, co-existence and the Olympic truce,» emphasizing heritage, landscapes and the athlete procession over political messaging. He called the Italian approach «panoramic, heritage-driven, classical,» compared with Paris’ «maximalist, narrative-driven, experimental» style.»
IOC CHIEF LAMENTS ‘DISTRACTING’ NEWS CYCLE AHEAD OF 2026 WINTER OLYMPICS
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends the Inauguration ceremony of the Olympic Torch Relay for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games at the Quirinale Palace, on Dec. 5, 2025, in Rome. (Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)
Reporting on the Milan ceremony described it as a unity-focused event celebrating Italian culture, design and scenery while pushing past pre-Games tensions and highlighting the Olympic ideal of connection and peace. Coverage emphasized tradition and spectacle rather than ideological symbolism, with performances rooted in classical imagery and national identity.
Dugan, who recently launched a Truce Compliance Index tracking how countries observe the tradition, argued the difference reflected two distinct philosophies about what Olympic ceremonies should represent.
Italian actress Matilda De Angelis performs during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Paris leaned into modern identity and pluralism, he said, presenting an ambitious cultural narrative that some audiences found bold while others viewed it as politically charged. Milan, by contrast, centered its message on timeless themes tied to heritage, human connection and the Olympic truce.
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, waves during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on July 26, 2024, in Paris. (Christian Liewig-Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
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The contrast between the ceremonies highlights a broader evolution of the Olympics themselves. Host nations increasingly use opening ceremonies to project national identity and values, whether through modern reinterpretation or traditional symbolism.
olympics,italy,france,culture opinion,sports,emmanuel macron
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Conmoción en Italia: un nene de dos años está en coma tras haber sido trasplantado con un corazón “quemado”
Tommaso, un nene italiano de dos años y tres meses, pelea por su vida en el Hospital Monaldi de Nápoles después de un trasplante fallido de corazón. El órgano, que llegó desde el hospital San Maurizio de Bolzano, habría sufrido daños irreversibles por el uso de hielo seco durante el traslado, según la hipótesis que investiga la Justicia.
La situación es desesperante: el menor permanece en coma inducido y conectado a una máquina de oxigenación por membrana extracorpórea (ECMO), mientras su familia espera la llegada de un nuevo órgano compatible. El caso generó conmoción en Italia y puso bajo la lupa los protocolos de conservación y transporte de órganos para trasplante.
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El corazón se habría “quemado” por el frío extremo durante el traslado
De acuerdo a la investigación de los Carabineros del NAS (Unidad especializada en seguridad alimentaria y sanitaria), el corazón fue transportado en un contenedor frigorífico convencional con hielo seco, en lugar de hielo tradicional. Este material puede alcanzar temperaturas cercanas a los -80 grados, lo que habría provocado que el órgano se “queme” por el frío y quedara inutilizable. Investigan a seis medicos por el trasplante fallido. (Foto: gentileza Il Mattino).
“El uso de hielo seco implica temperaturas de 70 grados bajo cero, lo que provocó que el órgano se quemara por el frío”, explicó el abogado de la familia, Francesco Petruzzi, en declaraciones a la televisión pública italiana. La caja refrigerada ya fue incautada y la Justicia ordenó un peritaje para determinar si se incumplieron los protocolos de conservación y transporte.
El trasplante falló y el menor sigue en estado crítico
El trasplante se realizó el 23 de diciembre, pero el nuevo corazón no funcionó correctamente desde el primer momento. El nene tuvo que ser conectado a una máquina ECMO y permanece internado en terapia intensiva, en estado crítico.
Para agravar el cuadro, una segunda opinión médica del Hospital Bambino Gesù de Roma advirtió que el chico presenta una hemorragia cerebral y una infección, lo que complica aún más la posibilidad de someterlo a un nuevo trasplante.
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No obstante, el hospital Monaldi informó que “el Equipo Cardíaco considera que el joven paciente aún cumple los requisitos para permanecer en la lista de espera para trasplantes”.
El niño, que sufre desde que tenía cuatro meses una cardiopatía dilatada, “permanece hospitalizado en cuidados intensivos bajo estrecha monitorización médica e instrumental, así como en consultas con especialistas”, indicó el comunicado
La madre de Tommaso: “Mi hijo es un guerrero”
“Mi hijo es un guerrero. Y yo, como él, tampoco me rendiré. Debe llegar un corazón nuevo para que pueda regresar a casa”, comentó este fin de semana Patrizia Mercolini, la mamá de Tommaso, en las puertas del hospital Monaldi.
“Algunos días después nos llamaron para decirnos que el corazoncito nuevo no funcionaba, por lo que tenían que conectar a mi hijo a una máquina para la oxigenación fuera del cuerpo de la sangre mientras esperaba a un nuevo órgano. Esperemos que llegue pronto. Las horas pasan y hay poco tiempo“, explicó la mujer.
Investigación judicial y suspensión del servicio de trasplantes
La Fiscalía investiga a seis profesionales de la salud por un posible delito de lesiones por negligencia.
Mientras tanto, el servicio de trasplantes pediátricos del Hospital Monaldi fue suspendido de manera cautelar y las autoridades revisan los protocolos aplicados en todo el proceso.
La familia del menor, que lleva 55 días hospitalizado, pidió toda la documentación clínica para buscar nuevas valoraciones médicas, incluso en otros centros de Italia y Europa.
El caso cobró mucha relevancia en los medios italianos y la primera ministra, la ultraderechisgta Giorgia Meloni, llamó a la madre de Tommaso este martes. “Se hará justicia”, le dijo Meloni a Mercolino, y prometió hacer “todo lo posible” para encontrar un nuevo donante compatible.
Italia, trasplante, Corazón
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