By Wil Steakin
Multiple senior DOGE officials are in the process of leaving the Trump administration as Elon Musk officially steps away, sources told ABC News Thursday.
Among them is James Burnham, DOGE’s top attorney, and Steve Davis, a longtime Musk lieutenant at Musk’s private companies, who are both in the process of offboarding from their roles as a special government employees, a White House official confirmed to ABC News.
Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and X who helped launch the Department of Government Efficiency in order to slash the federal government, said on X Wednesday night that he wanted to thank President Donald Trump “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end.”
Musk and several other DOGE employees were hired at the start of the Trump’s presidency as special government employees, which are limited to 130 days of service — although Musk has previously said he expects DOGE to continue throughout Trump’s term in office.
DOGE has thus far claimed government savings of $175 billion, although its aggressive cost-cutting tactics have spawned dozens of lawsuits and accusations that its work is unconstitutional.
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. Davis, who served as one of Musk’s most senior advisers at DOGE, was viewed as running day-to-day operations, and worked across multiple federal agencies during his tenure.
ABC News has reached out to those involved. 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.
While White House officials insist that Musk and Trump are on good terms as Musk departs, the president has been quiet about Musk’s departure — especially following Musk’s critical comments to CBS News about Trump’s “big beautiful” spending bill that passed the Republican-led House last week.
“The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government,” Musk said in the social media post announcing his departure Wednesday.
