Without billionaire Elon Musk in the Trump administration, his cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency project is likely to sputter out, a former DOGE staffer said in an interview after leaving the team.

Elon Musk has confirmed that he will depart from his role at the White House and as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, leaving behind several questions about the future of DOGE. The tech CEO announced he would be stepping down after his "scheduled time" as a government employee came to an end on Wednesday,

The interview comes after Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced that he is exiting as a special government employee, but said that DOGE would continue to function without him.