Elon Musk  bounded into Washington as a special government employee earlier this year. Gaining unprecedented access to the corridors of power and data, the billionaire injected a sense of chaos across the US government.

Measured from Trump's inauguration on 20 January, the 130-day limit - assuming Musk, who brags about working weekends, clocks roughly five days a week at Doge - would run out toward the end of May. But scaling back would extend that timeframe. Additionally, the 130-day limit would reset in January 2026.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has been Donald Trump’s battering ram during the president’s first 100 days, slashing the federal government and trying to bend its remnants to Trump’s will.