With members embedded in multiple agencies, the team’s approach to transforming government is becoming “institutionalized,” as one official put it.

Musk said he had "done enough" and that he will step away from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the inner-government group that has slashed federal budgets and workforces. As he prepared his goodbyes, Newsweek looked back at Musk's time in government and asked experts on whether he will have a lasting impact.

A federal judge has refused to throw out a lawsuit that accuses billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency of illegally accessing government data systems, canceling government contracts and firing federal employees.