The White House confirmed in a court filing Monday that Elon Musk has "no formal authority" in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and is not its administrator, despite President Donald Trump previously touting him as its leader.
Since taking office for his second term in January, Trump has focused on restructuring the federal government by eliminating wasteful spending and reducing bureaucracy, Axios reported.
To spearhead this effort, he announced in November that Musk and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy would lead DOGE, a controversial initiative aimed at cutting thousands of federal jobs and regulations with the goal of dramatically reducing government spending.
However, Musk's role in the administration has remained unclear. While he has been a vocal advocate for slashing federal expenditures and has reportedly gained access to sensitive Treasury data, legal and political challenges have emerged questioning his authority.
Democratic lawmakers have accused Musk of orchestrating a "hostile takeover" of the government, and 14 state attorneys generals, led by New Mexico, have filed lawsuits seeking to curb his influence.
According to a court filing signed by Joshua Fisher, director of the White House Office of Administration, Musk is classified as a "Special Government Employee" (SGE) and serves only as a senior adviser to Trump.
The filing, submitted as part of the ongoing lawsuit, states: "Like other senior White House advisors, Mr. Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself."
The filing further clarifies that Musk is not an employee of DOGE, nor does he have the power to execute federal directives independently.
Despite this clarification, Trump praised Musk's involvement, stating in a Fox News Super Bowl interview that he had received "great help" from Musk and had plans to have him work on the Department of Education.
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