New Trump Aide Takes Shape, But Administrative Efficiency and Policy Stability Remain to Be Seen

On May 1st, US media reported that US National Security Advisor Mike Walsh is set to resign and take up the post of US Ambassador to the United Nations, with Secretary of State Rubio expected to take on his responsibilities. Walsh's deputy, Alex Wong, who played a key role in arranging Trump's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and is one of the few senior officials with practical diplomatic experience in East Asia, will also depart. Trump's Middle East envoy, Wictoff, is considering succeeding Walsh as National Security Advisor, but no decision has been made yet.

Walsh's First Term Marked by Frequent High-Level Changes

Trump's first term was characterized by frequent changes at the top, but it wasn't until his hundredth day in the White House that he made his first significant personnel move in his second term. The US National Security Council (NSC) is a core institution for every US president to formulate and coordinate security policies, with its members often making key decisions on global hotspot conflicts. Walsh is seen as a staunch supporter of traditional security alliances (such as NATO) and is also a more moderate, advocating for coordinated foreign policy within the Trump administration. The sudden change came as a surprise, with even White House spokesperson Tammy Bruce learning about it from reporters during a briefing.

Musk's Star Fades as Business Titan Marginalized

Meanwhile, Musk, once the most prominent of global business magnates, has fallen out of favor and been pushed out of the decision-making core. On April 30th, Musk claimed at a White House meeting that his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has saved $16 billion to date. This is far from his promise last fall to "cut at least $20 billion."

Statistics from some organizations show that "layoffs, rehirings, productivity losses, and thousands of staff on paid leave will cost over $3.5 billion in the current fiscal year," implying that the DOGE project may actually lead to an increase in government net expenditure.

Dual Ouster

Musk, with his nine-digit campaign funding to support Trump's election, played an extremely special role in the Trump administration. He not only frequently participated in phone negotiations with foreign leaders but also presided over high-level meetings in the Pentagon and the National Security Council, even speaking directly with Indian Prime Minister Modi. Now, as Trump's left and right arms gradually take shape, including trade advisor Navarro, who has risen to become a key figure in the Trump government, no one dares to challenge his views, and Navarro enjoys a rare "one-voice hall" status; the other is Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, whose words carry great weight and influence as Trump's policies shake the US dollar's dominance, with Mnuchin's influence rising. Musk has had fierce disputes with these two major White House figures. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and Musk had a "blunt exchange" outside the president's office; Musk called Navarro a "idiot" on social platform X.

US media reports that the first female White House Chief of Staff, Wiles, played a significant role in Musk's ouster. She believed that Musk's physical presence in the White House would threaten the cooperative spirit she wanted to establish. Her struggle reduced Musk's chances of appearing in the West Wing of the White House, eventually fading out.

On April 30th, Musk attended a cabinet meeting in the White House wearing two hats, one a red "Bay Area" hat favored by Trump, and the other a DOGE hat. Musk repeatedly switched hats during the meeting, ultimately deciding to wear both. Musk, who wanted to juggle two hats in politics and business, is now facing a double ouster.

Musk's official position in the cabinet will end around May 30th, after which he will serve as an informal advisor. Additionally, due to the decline in Tesla's stock price and some investors' dissatisfaction with Musk's deep involvement in politics, Tesla's board is seriously considering finding a successor for Musk. Although Tesla later rarely publicly denied it, Musk has become a negative asset to Tesla, causing the company's revenue to decline by 9% in the first quarter, automotive business revenue to drop by 20%, and net profit to plummet by 71%.

Musk recently told investors on Tesla's earnings call that from May, he would significantly reduce his time at DOGE and refocus on Tesla's work. Tesla's brand has been severely damaged by Musk's political involvement and is facing performance challenges - both sales and performance are significantly declining. A government efficiency department employee told Caijing Review that Musk had taken the lead in demanding that government workers must be in the office 40 hours a week, or they would lose their jobs. Because they found that 10 US civil servants were doing the work of one person, Musk chose to fight with the huge government employee group, and all their dissatisfaction was vented on Musk.

Musk is seen as the soul figure of Tesla. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives once said: "Tesla is Musk, Musk is Tesla." However, Tesla is currently facing numerous difficulties, with aging product lines, intensified competition from China, DOGE actions and the resulting political backlash, all leading to a decline in product demand and profits.

Recently, Musk's rocket and satellite company is collaborating with software manufacturer Palantir and drone manufacturer Anduril to bid for the key parts of the "Golden Dome" (Golden Dome), a project that has attracted great interest from rapidly developing defense startups in the tech industry. Reports say that Musk's SpaceX and two partners are expected to win the bid for the key parts of President Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defense system. But 42 Democratic lawmakers have called for a review of Musk's role in this missile defense system bidding process.

SpaceX Attracts Significant Attention

SpaceX and its two partners are expected to win President Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defense system key parts bid. Photo/Jin Li

Personnel Turmoil

In March, Walsh came under close scrutiny for mistakenly adding The Atlantic's Jeff Goldberg to a Signal chat group, which included discussions with senior national security officials about US military strike plans against targets in Yemen. After Walsh acknowledged the veracity of the closed-door report, White House officials debated whether he should resign, but Walsh never offered to resign, and Trump did not ask him to resign at the time. Trump publicly expressed support for Walsh, calling him "a good man" who "learned a lesson."

Walsh's departure marks the end of a month-long personnel turmoil within Trump's national security agencies. Since April 1st, the US National Security Council has fired at least 20 members, leading to severe staff shortages in several key departments. Insiders reveal that the actual number of layoffs exceeds previous reports, causing some key national security agencies to be short-staffed.

Additionally, the US Department of Defense fired three senior officials on April 18th, who were accused of "unauthorized disclosure of national security information." These three officials subsequently issued a joint statement, firmly denying the allegations and accusing the Pentagon of "groundless persecution." against them. The US Department of Defense had previously launched investigations into several "leak incidents" to determine how sensitive information about the US Navy's second aircraft carrier's trip to the Red Sea, US military plans for the Panama Canal, "Department of Government Efficiency" head Musk's visit to the Pentagon, and the US suspension of intelligence collection for Ukraine was exposed to the media.

The US Department of Defense has initiated investigations into several "leak incidents." Photo/Jin Li

Trump Returns to the White House and the Pentagon Conducts a "Purge"

After Trump's return to the White House, the Pentagon has conducted a "purge" of senior officials, firing senior officials appointed by the Biden administration such as the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Charles Brown in February. These purges have severely impacted the morale of certain national security agency departments. These officials also added that some government departments lack relevant national security expertise, making it difficult to attract senior talent in some cases.

New Trump Aide Takes Shape, But Administrative Efficiency and Policy Stability Remain to Be Seen

On May 1st, US media reported that US National Security Advisor Mike Walsh is set to resign and take up the post of US Ambassador to the United Nations, with Secretary of State Rubio expected to take on his responsibilities. Walsh's deputy, Alex Wong, who played a key role in arranging Trump's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and is one of the few senior officials with practical diplomatic experience in East Asia, will also depart. Trump's Middle East envoy, Wictoff, is considering succeeding Walsh as National Security Advisor, but no decision has been made yet.

Walsh's First Term Marked by Frequent High-Level Changes

Trump's first term was characterized by frequent changes at the top, but it wasn't until his hundredth day in the White House that he made his first significant personnel move in his second term. The US National Security Council (NSC) is a core institution for every US president to formulate and coordinate security policies, with its members often making key decisions on global hotspot conflicts. Walsh is seen as a staunch supporter of traditional security alliances (such as NATO) and is also a more moderate, advocating for coordinated foreign policy within the Trump administration. The sudden change came as a surprise, with even White House spokesperson Tammy Bruce learning about it from reporters during a briefing.

Musk's Star Fades as Business Titan Marginalized

Meanwhile, Musk, once the most prominent of global business magnates, has fallen out of favor and been pushed out of the decision-making core. On April 30th, Musk claimed at a White House meeting that his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has saved $16 billion to date. This is far from his promise last fall to "cut at least $20 billion."

Statistics from some organizations show that "layoffs, rehirings, productivity losses, and thousands of staff on paid leave will cost over $3.5 billion in the current fiscal year," implying that the DOGE project may actually lead to an increase in government net expenditure.

Dual Ouster

Musk, with his nine-digit campaign funding to support Trump's election, played an extremely special role in the Trump administration. He not only frequently participated in phone negotiations with foreign leaders but also presided over high-level meetings in the Pentagon and the National Security Council, even speaking directly with Indian Prime Minister Modi. Now, as Trump's left and right arms gradually take shape, including trade advisor Navarro, who has risen to become a key figure in the Trump government, no one dares to challenge his views, and Navarro enjoys a rare "one-voice hall" status; the other is Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, whose words carry great weight and influence as Trump's policies shake the US dollar's dominance, with Mnuchin's influence rising. Musk has had fierce disputes with these two major White House figures. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and Musk had a "blunt exchange" outside the president's office; Musk called Navarro a "idiot" on social platform X.

US media reports that the first female White House Chief of Staff, Wiles, played a significant role in Musk's ouster. She believed that Musk's physical presence in the White House would threaten the cooperative spirit she wanted to establish. Her struggle reduced Musk's chances of appearing in the West Wing of the White House, eventually fading out.

On April 30th, Musk attended a cabinet meeting in the White House wearing two hats, one a red "Bay Area" hat favored by Trump, and the other a DOGE hat. Musk repeatedly switched hats during the meeting, ultimately deciding to wear both. Musk, who wanted to juggle two hats in politics and business, is now facing a double ouster.

Musk's official position in the cabinet will end around May 30th, after which he will serve as an informal advisor. Additionally, due to the decline in Tesla's stock price and some investors' dissatisfaction with Musk's deep involvement in politics, Tesla's board is seriously considering finding a successor for Musk. Although Tesla later rarely publicly denied it, Musk has become a negative asset to Tesla, causing the company's revenue to decline by 9% in the first quarter, automotive business revenue to drop by 20%, and net profit to plummet by 71%.

Musk recently told investors on Tesla's earnings call that from May, he would significantly reduce his time at DOGE and refocus on Tesla's work. Tesla's brand has been severely damaged by Musk's political involvement and is facing performance challenges - both sales and performance are significantly declining. A government efficiency department employee told Caijing Review that Musk had taken the lead in demanding that government workers must be in the office 40 hours a week, or they would lose their jobs. Because they found that 10 US civil servants were doing the work of one person, Musk chose to fight with the huge government employee group, and all their dissatisfaction was vented on Musk.

Musk is seen as the soul figure of Tesla. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives once said: "Tesla is Musk, Musk is Tesla." However, Tesla is currently facing numerous difficulties, with aging product lines, intensified competition from China, DOGE actions and the resulting political backlash, all leading to a decline in product demand and profits.

Recently, Musk's rocket and satellite company is collaborating with software manufacturer Palantir and drone manufacturer Anduril to bid for the key parts of the "Golden Dome" (Golden Dome), a project that has attracted great interest from rapidly developing defense startups in the tech industry. Reports say that Musk's SpaceX and two partners are expected to win the bid for the key parts of President Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defense system. But 42 Democratic lawmakers have called for a review of Musk's role in this missile defense system bidding process.

SpaceX Attracts Significant Attention

SpaceX and its two partners are expected to win President Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defense system key parts bid. Photo/Jin Li

Personnel Turmoil

In March, Walsh came under close scrutiny for mistakenly adding The Atlantic's Jeff Goldberg to a Signal chat group, which included discussions with senior national security officials about US military strike plans against targets in Yemen. After Walsh acknowledged the veracity of the closed-door report, White House officials debated whether he should resign, but Walsh never offered to resign, and Trump did not ask him to resign at the time. Trump publicly expressed support for Walsh, calling him "a good man" who "learned a lesson."

Walsh's departure marks the end of a month-long personnel turmoil within Trump's national security agencies. Since April 1st, the US National Security Council has fired at least 20 members, leading to severe staff shortages in several key departments. Insiders reveal that the actual number of layoffs exceeds previous reports, causing some key national security agencies to be short-staffed.

Additionally, the US Department of Defense fired three senior officials on April 18th, who were accused of "unauthorized disclosure of national security information." These three officials subsequently issued a joint statement, firmly denying the allegations and accusing the Pentagon of "groundless persecution." against them. The US Department of Defense had previously launched investigations into several "leak incidents" to determine how sensitive information about the US Navy's second aircraft carrier's trip to the Red Sea, US military plans for the Panama Canal, "Department of Government Efficiency" head Musk's visit to the Pentagon, and the US suspension of intelligence collection for Ukraine was exposed to the media.

The US Department of Defense has initiated investigations into several "leak incidents." Photo/Jin Li

Trump Returns to the White House and the Pentagon Conducts a "Purge"

After Trump's return to the White House, the Pentagon has conducted a "purge" of senior officials, firing senior officials appointed by the Biden administration such as the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Charles Brown in February. These purges have severely impacted the morale of certain national security agency departments. These officials also added that some government departments lack relevant national security expertise, making it difficult to attract senior talent in some cases.