Turmoil in the White House, Musk bids farewell while wearing two hats.

Written by｜Special contributor of "Caijing" Jin Yan

On May 1st, Thursday local time, U.S. media reported that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz is set to resign and be appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, with the vacancy to be filled by Secretary of State Rubio. Waltz's deputy, Alex Wong, will also resign; he assisted in arranging the summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and is one of the few senior officials with practical diplomatic experience in East Asia. U.S. President Trump's Middle East envoy, Wittekov, is considering succeeding Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor, but no decision has been made yet.

Trump's first term was characterized by frequent changes at the top, but Trump's second term did not introduce his first major personnel changes until he completed 100 days in the White House. The U.S. National Security Council (NSC) is the central body for U.S. presidents to formulate and coordinate security policy, and its members often make key decisions on global hotspot conflicts. Waltz is seen as a staunch supporter of traditional security alliances, such as NATO, and one of the more moderate voices in the Trump administration who advocates external coordination. The change came so abruptly that even U.S. State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce (Tammy Bruce) learned the news from reporters at a briefing that day.

At the same time, the global billionaire business tycoon Elon Musk, who was once in the spotlight at the beginning of the year, has faded from power and has been pushed out of the decision-making core circle. On Wednesday, April 30, local time, Musk claimed at a White House meeting that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) he leads has saved $160 billion so far. This is far from the "at least $2 trillion" reduction he promised last autumn.

According to agency statistics, "fires, rehires, lost productivity, and paid leave for thousands of workers will cost more than $135 billion in the current fiscal year" related to DOGE, which means that DOGE may actually lead to an increase in net government spending.

Double Out

Musk supported Trump’s election with campaign funds reaching nine figures, thus playing a very special role in the Trump administration. Not only did he frequently participate in phone consultations with foreign heads of state, but he also hosted high-level meetings at the Pentagon and the National Security Agency, and even spoke directly with Indian Prime Minister Modi. Now, Trump’s right-hand men are gradually taking shape, including trade advisor Navarro, who has risen to become a key figure in the Trump administration, as no one dares to directly challenge his views, allowing Navarro to enjoy the rare status of being the sole authority; the other is Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, whose influence and weight have grown as Trump’s policies have shaken the dominance of the dollar and led to a wave of "sell America" sentiments. Musk has had intense disputes with these two White House heavyweights. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and Musk exchanged harsh words outside the Oval Office; Musk referred to Navarro as an "idiot" on social media platform X.

According to the American media, it was the first female White House chief of staff Wiles, who played an important role in Musk's exit. She believes that Musk's physical office in the White House threatens the spirit of cooperation she wants to build. Her struggle greatly diminished Musk's chances of appearing in the West Wing of the White House, and he eventually faded out.

On April 30, Musk wore two hats while attending a cabinet meeting at the White House, one being the red "Make America Great Again" hat favored by Trump, and the other a DOGE hat. Musk kept switching hats during the meeting and ultimately decided to wear both at the same time. At this moment, Musk, who aims to navigate both politics and business with his two hats, is facing the prospect of a double exit.

Musk's official position in the cabinet will end around May 30, after which he will serve as an informal advisor. Additionally, due to the decline in the stock price of the American automaker Tesla and some investors' dissatisfaction with Musk's deep involvement in politics, Tesla's board has begun to seriously consider finding a successor to Musk. Although Tesla subsequently rarely issued a public denial, Musk's status as a negative asset for Tesla has caused the company's revenue in the first quarter to decline by 9% year-on-year, automotive business revenue to decline by 20% year-on-year, and net profit to plummet by 71% year-on-year.

Elon Musk recently told investors during Tesla's earnings call that starting in May, he will significantly reduce his work time on DOGE to refocus on Tesla. The Tesla brand has been severely damaged and is facing performance challenges due to Musk's political work—both sales and performance are declining sharply. An unnamed employee from the Department of Efficiency said to Caijing that Musk had previously led a request for government employees to work 40 hours a week in the office, or they would lose their jobs. They found that, essentially, 10 government employees could complete the work of one person, and Musk chose to take on the large group of government employees, which has resulted in this interest group directing their dissatisfaction at Musk.

Musk is regarded as the soul of Tesla. Wedbush securities analyst Dan Ives once said, "Tesla is Musk, and Musk is Tesla." However, Tesla is currently facing numerous challenges, including an aging product line, intensified competition from China, and the DOGE movement and its resulting political backlash, all of which have led to a decline in both product demand and profits.

Musk's rocket and satellite company is partnering with software maker Palantir and drone maker Anduril to bid for a key part of the Golden Dome, a project that has attracted a lot of interest from the tech industry's burgeoning defense start-ups. There is news that Musk's SpaceX and two partners are expected to win the bid for key parts of US President Donald Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defense system. But 42 Democratic lawmakers have called for a review of Musk's role in the bid for the missile defense system.

Elon Musk's SpaceX has garnered significant attention. SpaceX and two partners are expected to win the bid for a key part of President Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defense system. Photo/ Jin Yan

personnel upheaval

In March of this year, Walz came under close scrutiny for mistakenly adding Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic to a group chat on Signal. Goldberg disclosed discussions Walz had with senior national security officials regarding plans for military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. After Walz privately acknowledged the truth of the reporting, White House officials debated whether he should resign, but Walz never offered to step down, nor did Trump at the time ask him to resign. Trump had publicly expressed support for Walz, calling him "a good man" who had "learned his lesson."

Waltz's departure marks the end of a month-long personnel turmoil within Trump's national security apparatus. Since April 1, the U.S. National Security Council has dismissed at least 20 members, leading to severe staff shortages in several key departments. According to informed sources, the actual scale of layoffs exceeds previous reports, resulting in some critical national security agencies facing a shortage of personnel.

The layoffs were initiated after conservative commentator Laura Loomer submitted a list of officials to President Trump that was labeled as "disloyal." In the first week, about 15 people were dismissed, and the layoff process is still ongoing. Media reports indicate that several key departments within the NSC are currently facing near paralysis, including teams responsible for Latin American policy, international organization affairs, and legislative affairs.

In addition, on April 18, the U.S. Department of Defense fired three senior officials who were accused of "unauthorized disclosure of national security information." The three officials subsequently issued a joint statement, firmly denying the allegations and accusing the Pentagon of "baseless defamation." The U.S. Department of Defense had previously launched an investigation into several "leak incidents" to determine how sensitive information, such as the deployment of the U.S. Navy's second aircraft carrier to the Red Sea, military action plans against the Panama Canal, the visit of the head of the "Government Efficiency Department" Musk to the Pentagon, and the U.S. suspension of intelligence collection for Ukraine, was exposed to the media.

The U.S. Department of Defense has launched an investigation into multiple "leak incidents." Photo by Jin Yan.

Since Trump's return to the White House, the Pentagon has carried out a "purge" of senior officials, firing senior officials such as Charles Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff appointed by the Biden administration, in February.

These purges have severely damaged the morale of certain parts of the national security apparatus. The officials added that some parts of the government lack relevant national security expertise, and in some cases, it is difficult to attract high-level talent.