Multiple senior DOGE officials are in the process of leaving the Trump administration as Elon Musk officially steps away, sources told ABC News Thursday.
Katie Miller, a special government employee who had served as a senior adviser and spokesperson for DOGE, is also leaving the administration and will work with Musk, sources said.
Burnham was a key attorney working closely with Musk and DOGE on the team’s legal strategy.
Sources told ABC News that other special government employees who worked with DOGE were also planning to be off-boarded.
While Musk is stepping away from the administration, a senior administration official said he will continue to serve as an unofficial adviser to the president and could potentially attend White House meetings in the future.
Sources told ABC News Thursday that several top DOGE officials are in the process of departing the Trump administration as Elon Musk formally steps down.
One White House official told ABC News that two of them, Steve Davis, a longtime lieutenant at Musk’s private companies, and James Burnham, DOGE’s top lawyer, are in the process of being offboarded from their positions as special government employees.
“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end,” Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and X who helped create the Department of Government Efficiency to cut the federal government, said on X Wednesday night. “,”.
Although Musk has previously stated that he expects DOGE to remain in place for the duration of Trump’s presidency, he and a number of other DOGE employees were hired as special government employees at the beginning of the Trump administration, with a 130-day contract.
Even though DOGE’s aggressive cost-cutting measures have led to dozens of lawsuits and accusations that its work is unconstitutional, the agency has so far claimed $175 billion in government savings.
According to sources, Katie Miller, a special government employee who previously worked for DOGE as a spokesperson and senior adviser, is also departing the administration and will collaborate with Musk.
Burnham was a crucial lawyer who collaborated closely with DOGE and Musk on the team’s legal plan. During his time at DOGE, Davis, one of Musk’s top advisors, was recognized for overseeing daily operations and working with several federal agencies.
Those involved have been contacted by ABC News. According to sources who spoke to ABC News, other DOGE-affiliated special government workers also intended to leave.
A senior administration official stated that Musk will remain an unofficial advisor to the president and may attend future White House meetings even though he is leaving the administration.
As Musk leaves, White House officials maintain that he and Trump are on good terms. However, the president has not spoken out about Musk’s departure, particularly after Musk made disparaging remarks to CBS News regarding Trump’s “big beautiful” spending bill that was approved by the Republican-controlled House last week.
In the social media post announcing his departure on Wednesday, Musk stated, “The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”.
