White House officials have said that DOGE’s efforts will continue after Musk leaves, and that he would likely continue to advise the President. "Elon is really not leaving. He’s going to be back and forth, I have a feeling," Trump said Friday. "It’s his baby.”

“DOGE’s over-promising and underperforming results damaged not only Musk’s reputation but also the standing of the Trump administration as a whole, and beyond that, probably the reputations and chances for success of future governmental reform cost-cutting measures,” presidential historian David Pietrusza told the Washington Examiner.