DOGE claims to have saved U.S. taxpayers $175 billion so far, through asset sales, canceled contracts, workforce reductions, and other initiatives.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is stepping down from his position as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which he has held since the start of President Donald Trump's second term in January. 

In a late Wednesday post on X, Musk thanked Trump for "the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," signaling the end of his term as a Special Government Employee.

"The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government," he wrote.

Created to slash the size and spending of the federal government, DOGE claims to have saved U.S. taxpayers $175 billion so far through asset sales, canceled contracts, workforce reductions, and other initiatives. 

The official DOGE site estimates this equates to $1,086.96 saved per taxpayer. 

However, those figures have been disputed, with independent analysts and media reports challenging the accuracy of the department's savings calculations.

In March, Musk appeared in a Fox TV interview and said he expects to remain in the Trump administration for another year, saying, "Unless we're [DOGE] stopped, we will get to $1 trillion of savings."

Musk's role in the administration has drawn sharp criticism, with backlash spilling over into his private ventures, particularly Tesla. 

Despite earlier remarks suggesting he'd continue in the post for another year, Musk's exit follows growing controversy and legal pressure.

On Tuesday, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., denied the Department of Justice's motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by 14 Democratic-led states. The suit challenges DOGE's legal authority and Musk's role in it.

Coinciding with his departure, Musk has also criticized the Republican Party's recent spending bill.

According to excerpts released by CBS, Musk said that the House-passed bill undermined DOGE's cost-cutting mission. "A bill can be big or it can be beautiful," he said. "But I don't know if it can be both."

Fears of growing U.S. deficits have also weighed on the markets this year. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is up just 0.5% year-to-date, while the Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (QQQ) has gained 1.7%. In contrast, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) is down 0.6%.

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