Vox’s Joshua Keating explains why the US government can’t have a big, beautiful breakup with Elon Musk. And now that he’s left DOGE, Elaine Kamarck from Brookings explains what happens to it.

This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy with help from Denise Guerra, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

Further reading: Why Trump probably can’t cut Musk loose Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaking alongside President Trump in the Oval Office. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images.

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