DOGE isn’t dead, both President Donald Trump and Elon Musk assured last week as Musk said goodbye to the Trump administration. But the already dicey effort Musk led could soon become even more so.

The White House’s “rescissions” package is headed for Congress. It included $9.4 billion in reductions, from public media and foreign aid.

The recent departure of Elon Musk from Washington marks a pivotal moment for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). As President Trump pushes for permanent budget cuts identified by DOGE, the implications for federal spending and employment are profound.

Elon Musk may be spending more time at Tesla—but there's plenty going on at his other businesses, too. The Financial Times earlier Monday reported that xAI, known in part for the AI chatbot Grok, seeks to raise $300 million at a company valuation of $113 billion in a deal that would let employees sell shares.

Musk, a U.S. citizen originally from South Africa who moved to Canada and then the States, has never had much affinity for the federal government or its capital city. When Musk me