Trump to have a press conference with Elon Musk in Oval Office on Friday, says ‘he will always be with us’

United States President Donald Trump said on May 29 announced that he will have a press conference with tech billionaire and close aide Elon Musk, , on Friday (May 30) at 1.30 pm EST (5.30 pm GMT and 11.30 pm IST) in the Oval Office.

This comes as Elon Musk, who envisioned and headed the so-called Department of Government Efficiency i.e. DOGE, yesterday said that he is exiting the role. Notably, his tenure as ‘special government employee’ in the administration is also ending.

“This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way. Elon is terrific!” Donald Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

Elon Musk Exiting Trump Administration, DOGE

On May 28, in a post on his social media site X, Elon Musk announced that he was stepping down from his White House role. The announcement came a day after Elon Musk, on May 27, criticised the price tag of Republicans' tax and budget legislation making its way through Congress.

The same day, in an interview with the Washington Post ahead of the SpaceX launch on May 27, Elon Musk expressed frustration that DOGE had become a scapegoat for criticism. “DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything. Whenever something goes wrong anywhere, we get blamed even if we have nothing to do with it,” he said.

Elon Musk stepping back from politics

Tesla investors rejoiced (the stock jumped 2 per cent) as the auto major's shares had continued to suffer backlash in the US and Europe, amid Elon Musk's role in slashing government spending, mass federal layoffs, and for his support of Trump and right-wing parties in Europe, respectively.

He recently told reporters he had “done enough” and would curtail spending money on politics. The richest man in the world had sunk around $300 million on Donald Trump's 2024 US presidential campaign and on other Republican candidates last year.

DOGE Impact: Hits on US govt employees, miss for Elon Musk

For US government employees, Elon Musk's DOGE was an upheaval machine. The turbulent times saw thousands of layoffs, complete department shutdowns, and reams of litigation, as per an AP report. Despite the noise, the accomplishments were far fewer than Elon Musk may have hoped, it added.

The report noted that the billionaire “struggled” in the unfamiliar environment of Washington and increasingly expressed frustration about resistance to his goals. He also dramatically reduced his target for cutting spending, from $2 trillion to $1 trillion to $150 billion.