[Source/Observer Network Wang Kaiwen] As US President Trump approaches his first 100 days in office, his close ally and billionaire Musk has reached the time to present results for the "US Government Efficiency Reform" he spearheaded.

100 days ago, Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to form the "Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)" led by Musk, and immediately began a sweeping reform of federal government departments.

Layoffs, shutdowns, closures - a series of actions have caused strong dissatisfaction and panic among American government employees.

Meanwhile, Musk's goal of cutting federal government spending has dropped sharply from the initial $2 trillion to $150 billion, yet it is still questioned as being watered down.

After Trump took office, Musk, who played a role in his ascension, was once at the peak of glory. However, with the advancement of DOGE's work and Trump's tariff policies, tensions between Musk and Trump's cabinet members have escalated continuously. He also faces accusations from Democrats of "abusing power." His assets have rapidly decreased within these 100 days.

Musk recently stated that he will reduce his time working for DOGE and focus more on Tesla. According to the latest report by the New York Post on April 29th, White House Chief of Staff Susan Wyrles revealed that Musk is no longer working at the White House and they currently communicate via phone.

Will Musk leave the Trump administration? Will he gradually drift apart from Trump? How will DOGE operate in the future?

On February 20, 2025, at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the United States, Musk held up an electric saw presented by Argentine President Millet. Visual China

100 Days, $160 Billion, 100,000+

How many people has DOGE laid off since Trump took office? How many federal government agencies have been affected? Have taxpayers' money really been saved?

According to The New York Times' review, by April 28th, various federal agencies had confirmed layoffs of at least 58,486 people, with approximately 76,100 employees accepting buyouts, and planned layoffs exceeding 148,000.

Institutions such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (99%), Voice of America (99%), and the "American Volunteer Corps" (93%) have laid off or plan to lay off over 90% of their staff. Departments like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (85%), Department of Education (46%), and the Department of Health and Human Services (24%) are also heavily affected by layoffs.

The report states that the current layoff plans may affect at least 12% of the 2.4 million civilian federal employees, and this number may increase as more agencies' layoff plans become clear.

According to CNN statistics, as of April 29th, at least 121,000 federal employees in the United States have been dismissed or placed on layoff lists, not including those forced into administrative leave or voluntary buyouts.

The massive wave of layoffs has triggered numerous lawsuits. As of April 23rd, at least 103 rulings nationwide have temporarily halted some of the government's layoff measures.

In CNN's view, the U.S. federal government has become the main culprit behind the sharp increase in layoffs in recent months.

The latest report released earlier this month by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which tracks U.S. layoffs, shows that the number of announced layoffs in March exceeded 275,000, the highest level since the outbreak of the pandemic. Among them, federal government agencies alone announced plans to lay off over 216,000 people.

In terms of "saving money," Musk initially hoped to cut $2 trillion in federal government spending, equivalent to nearly one-third of the U.S. federal government expenditure in fiscal year 2024 (6.75 trillion dollars). This plan was considered unrealistic from the start. By late March, Musk said he planned to cut $1 trillion in government spending by the end of May. At the cabinet meeting on April 3rd, he further reduced the target significantly, stating that he expected to save $150 billion in federal government spending by the 2026 fiscal year (October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2026).

According to DOGE website statistics, as of April 29th local time, through layoffs, termination of contracts, cancellation of funding, etc., it has saved $160 billion for American taxpayers.

Funds "saved" by DOGE since its establishment DOGE website screenshot

Among them, about $30 billion was saved by terminating 8,454 contracts, and about $33 billion was saved by terminating 9,699 grants. Multiple departments and institutions such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have had contracts or grants worth hundreds of millions to billions canceled.

Reuters pointed out that many of these figures cannot be verified, and DOGE's website often contains errors, such as crediting itself for eliminating contracts that expired years ago, exaggerating project savings, double-counting, etc.

Musk previously admitted that mistakes were inevitable and would be corrected once discovered.

Despite the fact that DOGE has saved far less than Musk's initial promise for American taxpayers, a White House official said that $1 trillion remains their "goal."

American expert Lü Xiang told the Observer Network: "Republicans have always advocated for a 'small government,' but ironically, despite every Republican administration aiming to reduce budgets, government spending has never actually decreased. For the current administration, which plans to significantly increase defense spending, there is no sign of a decrease in expenditures either."

"Chaotic, Inefficient"

"We must establish an efficient state," Trump told Time magazine when discussing the federal government layoffs last week.

However, the short-term mass layoffs have disrupted the normal operations and services of U.S. federal agencies.

On February 20, in downtown Denver, Colorado, U.S. Internal Revenue Service workers leave their office after being laid off. Visual China

For example, the Social Security Administration, which distributes benefits monthly to 73 million retirees, disabled individuals, and others across the nation, is undergoing a large-scale reorganization.

According to Reuters, in recent times, lawyers, statisticians, and other officials have been sent from the Social Security Administration headquarters in Baltimore to regional offices to replace senior claims processors who have been laid off or offered buyouts.

Two sources familiar with the matter said that most new employees do not know how to handle these tasks, resulting in longer wait times for those dependent on these benefits, including disabled individuals and the elderly.

Reuters reviewed 20 cases and found that DOGE's cuts to personnel and funds in federal government agencies have led to multiple issues, including increased procurement difficulty and costs, decision-making paralysis, extended public wait times, highly paid civil servants performing lower-level jobs, and a brain drain of tech talent.

In addition, many analysts point out that the cost of DOGE's layoffs may already be close to the claimed savings.

The New York Times reported that according to estimates by the non-profit organization "Partnership for Public Service," which studies federal labor, the U.S. government will incur losses of $135 billion this fiscal year due to dismissals, rehiring, productivity declines, and thousands of employees taking paid leave.

"Musk has not only greatly exaggerated the amount of money he has saved but also failed to consider the multiplied waste he has caused," said Max Steel, CEO of "Partnership for Public Service." "He is imposing these costs on the American people, who will pay for them for many years to come."

Jessica Riddle, a researcher at the conservative think tank Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, estimates that DOGE has saved only $5 billion so far and believes that the total cost of its initiatives will exceed the savings.

"Chaotic and inefficient," Reuters described DOGE's performance during its "first 100 days."

Where will Musk and DOGE go?

Although the White House has clearly stated that Musk is not a formal employee of DOGE and does not have formal government decision-making authority, he and DOGE, as well as the Trump administration, are deeply intertwined. Previously, he frequently appeared prominently at various political events with his family in tow.

On February 13th, Musk met Indian Prime Minister Modi visiting the U.S. at Blair House with his girlfriend Shivon Zillis and children. ModiX account

His presence in the Trump administration has sparked growing dissatisfaction.

The joint poll conducted by The Washington Post, ABC, and Ipsos on April 28th showed that 57% of Americans disapprove of Musk's work in Washington, compared to less than half of this percentage in February.

This dissatisfaction has spilled over to Musk's companies. In March, protests against Musk and boycotts of Tesla emerged across several U.S. locations.

Tesla's first-quarter 2025 financial report released on April 22nd showed that the company's first-quarter net profit fell by 71%; car sales plummeted significantly, with double-digit percentage drops in sales in key markets such as the U.S., China, and Germany. Additionally, Tesla's stock price has fallen by more than 40% this year.

Tesla stated that trade wars and "changing political sentiments" may put pressure on the company's automotive demand.

Bloomberg's billionaire index shows that since January 17th, Musk's wealth has decreased by 25%, meaning that "aligning with Trump has cost him $113 billion." The New Republic magazine website bluntly stated that Musk suffered heavy losses in the first 100 days under Trump.

An analysis points out that Musk is taking the brunt of the criticism for Trump. Elaine Kamarck, director of the Center for Effective Public Management at the Brookings Institution, told Bloomberg: "DOGE is cutting muscle, not fat. Elon Musk is shouldering much of the blame for Trump's decisions, and people have decided to hate Musk more than Trump."

As a "special government employee," Musk can serve no more than 130 days in a year. This means his work in government may end by the end of May. However, Trump has said that Musk can stay as long as he wishes.

At Tesla's first-quarter earnings call on April 22nd, Musk said that DOGE's work has "basically been completed," and starting in May, he will "significantly" reduce his management of DOGE and "focus more on Tesla."

He also stated that he will not completely step away from government work, and will continue to "spend one or two days a week" on government affairs, "as long as the president wants me to do so, and as long as it is useful."

On February 11th, Musk held a press conference at the Oval Office in the White House with his son X. Video screenshot

"Politico" noted that Trump administration senior officials were not surprised by Musk's announcement. A "loyal fan" of Musk said that in recent days, Musk has become increasingly dissatisfied with Washington; his frustration at lack of control is evident—Musk, who has decision-making authority over his own businesses, is accustomed to acting on his own terms.

Recently, Musk's relationship with Trump's cabinet members has become increasingly tense. After arguing with U.S. Secretary of State Rubio and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy at a cabinet meeting in early March, he clashed fiercely with Treasury Secretary Bezos over IRS personnel appointments in mid-April, almost escalating into a physical altercation.

Reuters quoted two U.S. government sources on April 23rd as saying that Trump's cabinet members are preparing to reclaim control and decision-making authority over departmental spending cuts.

Moreover, on the issue of tariffs, Musk has repeatedly opposed Trump's administration, even engaging in a verbal spat with Navarro, a key proponent of Trump's tariff policies and his chief trade advisor.

According to The Wall Street Journal, when Musk discussed Trump's trade war on the Tesla earnings call, he sighed deeply, expressing that he advocates lowering tariffs and will continue to do so.

"I just want to emphasize that the decision on tariffs is entirely in the hands of the U.S. president. Whether he will take my advice is his business," Musk said.

Lü Xiang said that for Musk, he hopes to rely on Trump to protect his industries, but Musk is not a typical Republican; "he is not an American landowner, he needs global markets and global supply chains."

"Musk seems to be arguing with Navarro, but doesn't Trump understand? It can be said that Musk has already broken with Trump on trade policy," Lü Xiang said.

He further pointed out that Musk originally hoped to earn Trump's favor by helping to cut budgets, but now both sides have "fallen out."

In Lü Xiang's view, the future relationship between Musk and Trump may be "sometimes close, sometimes distant"; "Trump still has certain needs for Musk and hopes to use him to suppress potential rivals within the party such as Vance, Rubio, and DeSantis. And Musk, to ensure the survival of his own enterprises, will also try to maintain his relationship with Trump. Specifically, it depends on what other needs Trump has for Musk, and he won't be completely idle in DOGE."

Analysts said that in terms of daily operations, Musk reducing his involvement will not significantly change the way DOGE operates. "This won't make a big difference to the status quo," said a senior Trump administration official close to the project.

"Politico" noted that even though Musk promised to reduce his involvement, there is no indication that he will completely withdraw. White House officials said that his personal friendship with Trump is very deep, and he is expected to visit Washington at least once a week.

"There has never been anything like DOGE in American history," said Donald Kettler, former dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, who has published several books on federal government matters. He believes that even if Musk leaves, his legacy will continue to have an impact.

CNN pointed out that regardless of what happens next, DOGE's first 100 days have been unprecedented, and its influence will continue for years to come.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7499058369676706338/

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