Fragile truce: This is how Vice President Vance brought Elon Musk back to support the White House

Now, President Trump and Musk are on good terms again, though their allies describe the truce as fragile. Musk sees Vance as a worthy candidate for the presidency in 2028, and both share a technological worldview and a fondness for online provocations.

As for Musk’s Government Efficiency Initiative (DOGE), while it fell short of its ambitious goal of cutting $2 trillion from the federal budget, its supporters in Silicon Valley and the administration argue that it has achieved a higher goal: a fundamental cultural change in government. Insiders point out that the effort “broke taboos” in Washington, normalized aggressive layoffs and allowed the government to conduct itself more like a business company. Former DOGE employees have integrated as full-time employees in a variety of federal agencies, where they continue to promote the principles of streamlining and redesigning the government service.