"We have to get a lot of votes, we can't be cutting – we need to get a lot of support," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

But Musk was a creature of Silicon Valley, a scion of the “PayPal mafia” whose leadership and willingness to take big risks propelled him to unparalleled wealth and influence.

The future of DOGE stimulus checks, proposed to distribute savings from government cuts, is uncertain following Musk's departure.