Elon Musk Distances Himself from Accountability for Trump Administration's Actions

Elon Musk, appointed by Donald Trump to lead the controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and serving as a key advisor to the president, has stated that he does not wish to "take responsibility for everything this administration is doing." The billionaire, who stepped down from his formal government role last Friday, expressed in an interview with CBS News that he found the criticisms of his Department of Government Efficiency to be "unfair" and does not want to be held accountable for Trump's actions.

In a conversation with journalist David Pogue, Musk acknowledged that he doesn't agree with every decision made by the administration. "I mean, I agree with much of what the administration does. But we have differences of opinion. There are things I don't entirely agree with," he remarked. He quickly added that while he didn't want to "speak against the administration," he also didn't wish to "assume responsibility for everything they're doing."

The entrepreneur claims to have saved the government $175 billion so far, although his original target was $2 billion. This was before the new legislation, dubbed "big and beautiful" by Trump, was approved by the House of Representatives. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill will add $3.8 trillion to the debt over the next decade. Musk commented, "I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit rather than reducing it, and undermines the work being done by the DOGE team."

"I believe a bill can be big or it can be beautiful. But I don't know if it can be both. That's my personal opinion," he admitted. Days after the interview, Donald Trump dismissed Musk, praising his management as “a colossal change” in Washington's political landscape.

Musk, who led the contentious DOGE for 130 days, received a symbolic key from the president in recognition of his efforts. Musk stated that his departure was due to the expiration of his temporary contract but assured that he would continue to advise Trump informally. He added that "this is not the end of DOGE, but the beginning... The DOGE team will strengthen over time... It is spreading throughout the government, and I trust that, eventually, we will see a reduction of a trillion dollars in waste and fraud."

Although brief, Musk's tenure in the Trump administration has had a significant impact. Under his leadership, DOGE implemented structural reforms, executed massive budget cuts, and redesigned bureaucratic processes with a technological focus, drawing criticism from various sectors of American society.