Musk's real DOGE legacy will be decided by courts long after his departure
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Elon Musk wears a black "Make America Great Again" ball cap while attending a campaign rally with Donald Trump on Oct. 5, 2024. in Butler, Pa.(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Elon Musk's DOGE days are over — but the bruise on his reputation and a legacy wrapped in ongoing litigation remain.
The big picture: DOGE-driven cuts wreaked havoc on federal workers, prompting a litany of lawsuits seeking to rein in Musk's chainsaw. As the billionaire departs, judges across the country could still unravel key parts of the effort for which he became the face.
- Musk, who arrived in D.C. as a political outsider with unprecedented power, will depart the capital with his boasts of government savings contested, his favorability ratings deflated and his brands battered, Axios' Zachary Basu writes.
- How history remembers his turbulent tenure could in part be determined by the courts.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt thanked Musk for his service and for "getting DOGE off of the ground" in a Thursday briefing.
- Asked if a new DOGE leader would be taking Musk's place, she said: "Again, the DOGE leaders are each and every member of the President's Cabinet and the President himself, who is wholeheartedly committed to cutting waste, fraud and abuse from our government."
Driving the news: Ongoing legal battles over record transparency, firings at the U.S. Institute of Peace and various federal agencies, budget cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities, and access to sensitive personal information — among others — could hobble DOGE's reach long after Musk's departure.
The latest: On Tuesday, a federal judge allowed a lawsuit filed by more than a dozen Democratic state attorneys general accusing Musk and DOGE of illegally exerting power over government operations to move forward.
- The states alleged Musk holds "virtually unchecked power" over the executive branch.
- As he closes the door on his time at DOGE, the remnants of that power remain — though not everything went to plan during Musk's roughly four-month tenure.
By the numbers: Musk started with an audacious goal to find $2 trillion in savings through DOGE, which was originally set to sunset July 4, 2026.
- According to the most recent update to DOGE's website, the cost-cutting initiative claims only $175 billion in savings — though it's backtracked on its claims in the past.
- That estimate includes workforce reductions, which have seen more than 120,000 federal employees laid off or targeted for layoffs, per CNN's count. Those cuts have rocked D.C.'s economy and massively stressed the bureaucracy.
- Some workers have been caught in cycles of being fired and re-hired with no guarantee their job will stick.
Catch up quick: Musk on Wednesday thanked President Trump for "the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending" as his time as a special government employee comes to its end.
- The mission of DOGE, he wrote, "will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government."
What we're watching: The White House plans to send a $9.4 billion rescissions package to Congress next week, an administration official told Axios' Hans Nichols, to give lawmakers the chance to codify some of the cuts identified by DOGE.
- Republicans in Congress could then help fortify DOGE's legacy of spending cuts.
- But Musk's malleable legacy, at least in part, is in the court's hands.
Go deeper: Musk "disappointed" in Trump's "big, beautiful bill"
Editor's note: This story has been updated with details from a White House press conference.
