Despite the public feud between Mr. Trump and Musk, there has been no effort to oust the over 100 administration officials who came from Musk’s orbit, according to three administration officials.
Sources say the White House’s Presidential Personnel Office, led by Sergio Gor, is not working to push these staffers and nominees out. Many are expected to be confirmed by the Senate in the next month. As of Friday afternoon, the White House has not received any official resignations from DOGE staffers since Thursday’s public blowup between the president and Musk.
Administration staffers supported by Musk include Troy Meink, who was confirmed recently by the Senate to be secretary of the Air Force. Stephen Ehikian, a former Salesforce vice president with ties to Musk, currently serves as the acting head of the General Services Administration. And sources say there is not an effort to pull the nomination of venture capitalist Scott Kupor to lead the Office of Personnel Management.
One Musk-backed nominee who was pulled, days before Thursday’s public breakup between Musk and Trump, was Jason Isaacman, who had been awaiting Senate confirmation to lead NASA.
Sources said the withdrawal of Isaacman to lead NASA wasn’t out of spite towards Musk. Mr. Trump announced he pulled Isaacman’s nomination on May 31, ahead of the public spat with Musk. On Thursday, the president referenced Isaacman’s donations to Democratic campaigns as a reason why his nomination was withdrawn.
“I say, you know, look, we won. We get certain privileges, and one of the privileges [is] we don’t have to appoint a Democrat,”‘ Mr. Trump said Thursday in an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Republican senators had also called the White House to complain about Isaacman’s Democratic donations and ask for his nomination to be pulled, sources say.
In 2024, Isaacman donated to several Democrats, including Sens. Chuck Schumer, Jon Tester, Bob Casey and Mark Kelly. Campaign finance records show his last donation to a Republican was to Florida State Rep. Randy Fine’s campaign in a February special election. There were no donations shown for Mr. Trump.
Former White House aide Steve Bannon was among those critical of Isaacman’s nomination. “No progressive Democrats in the administration — start by checking donors,” Bannon said. He declined to say if he hopes some of Musk’s allies leave government after Thursday’s spat.
By Jennifer Jacobs and Aaron Navarro