Trump sends Musk out of White House with gold key

After spending 130 days working to dismantle entire federal government agencies, firing tens of thousands of civil servants and sparking dozens of lawsuits over potential misuse of Americans’ personal data, the world’s wealthiest man was rewarded with a gold-plated skeleton key that can be purchased for nearly $8,000 on eBay.

- Andrew Feinberg, The Independent

Seated at the iconic desk hewed from timbers harvested from H.M.S. Resolute, President Donald Trump praised Elon Musk for his four months of work leading the “Department of Government Efficiency,” a role from which Musk is required to depart due to his now-former status as a Special Government Employee, which had let him work for free without complying with any financial disclosure rules but only for 130 days per year.

He called the Tesla and SpaceX CEO “one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced” and hailed him for having led what Trump called “the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations.”