In one camp stand Trump allies who see it as a matter of time before the president tires personally and professionally of Elon Musk, who has been inescapable for the past week as he and staff for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have sought to seize control of various agencies.
The critics see a tech titan who is not accountable to anyone but Trump and stirs controversy, even with some Republicans.
In the other camp are Trump advisers who see Musk as helping to deliver on exactly what the president promised as a candidate.
"This is what President Trump campaigned on," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday. "Elon Musk is a highly respected, once-in-a-generation business leader who is volunteering his time to help make our federal government more efficient."
Musk's shadow looms over the White House's day-to-day business.
Trump has been publicly supportive of Musk, and his advisers chafe at the suggestion that the tech titan is anything resembling a co-president.
"Elon can't do, and won't do, anything without our approval," Trump told reporters Monday. "And we'll give him the approval where appropriate, where not appropriate we won't. … But he does have a good natural instinct, he's got a team of very talented people. We're trying to shrink government, and he can probably shrink it as well as anyone else, if not better."
After Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) posted on the social platform X that Musk "is a terrible president," White House communications director Steven Cheung responded: "Tim Walz is a cuck."
Musk has been at the center of Trump's hacksaw to the federal government this week:
- He has been the main cheerleader for gutting USAID.
- His team has been pushing for access to the Treasury Department's payment system.
- DOGE staff has been involved at the Small Business Administration and the Government Services Administration.
"This Elon thing is going to be over in like three months. Both of these guys want to be the center of attention," one Republican donor who requested anonymity to speak freely told The Hill.
The Hill's Brett Samuels has more here.
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