While Democrats and their media allies were thrilled at early reports of Elon Musk exiting his DOGE, the White House clarified when Musk will actually leave the Department of Government Efficiency.

According to Fox News, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt disputed early reports of Politico's "scoop' regarding Musk's potential exit, calling the report "garbage." 

Even Musk commented on the Politico report, calling it "fake news," drawing mountains of feedback across social media as many didn't want Musk to leave DOGE and all of the fantastic work that it has accomplished so far.

The report that had been published earlier in the day falsely reported that Trump had told his "inner circle" that Musk was on his way out of DOGE.

What happened?

Leavitt clarified the situation on Wednesday, calling the so-called Politico scoop "garbage."

"This ‘scoop’ is garbage," Leavitt posted to X on Wednesday. "Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete."

This “scoop” is garbage.

Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete. https://t.co/Brppff6SKi

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) April 2, 2025

Fox News noted:

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, runs dry May 30.

Musk was hired as a "special government employee" by the Trump administration to head up the cost-cutting agency. DOGE has already saved U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars in wasteful spending.

Social media reacts

Users across social media reacted to Leavitt's announcement clarifying the fake news report.

"Are you saying Politico would lie? I’m shocked!" one X user wrote.

Another X user wrote, "Elon said himself he’d be exiting by the end of May and stated his work would be mostly complete by then, this despite the fact that DOGE had an originally scheduled closing date of July 2026. So, is he not leaving at the end of May?"

It'll be a sad day to see Musk leave the department, but it's safe to say he'll only do that when he accomplishes his mission.