Elon Musk will wind down his time as the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency in the coming weeks, but speaking with reporters, he admitted the effort has not been as effective as he would have liked.

President Donald Trump established DOGE via executive order on his first day in office, aimed at cutting waste and fraud throughout the federal government. The effort has cut thousands of jobs and significant federal funds as it seeks to achieve its goal by its expiration date of July 4, 2026, which is the United States’s 250th birthday.