Elon Musk, the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency, expressed irritation that DOGE took on the role of “whipping boy,” suggesting that it unfairly took the brunt of the blame for every controversial change made under the Trump administration.

For months, Musk took a verbal beating from Democrats over his work at DOGE, the bureaucracy-slashing task force he spearheaded that scrutinized government agencies for waste and fraud on behalf of President Donald Trump. Earlier this month, Musk said he would take a step back from DOGE to spend more time running his multibillion-dollar companies, Tesla, X, and SpaceX, which have suffered during his time in Washington.