Featured Image Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Politics, US News
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Politics, US News
The White House has set the record straight on exactly what role Elon Musk has and what his powers are in a new court filing, and it's come as a shock to some.
The 78-year-old Republican leader was officially sworn in as the 47th president of the United States around this time last month (20 January) and has made a number of appearances alongside Musk, 53, since.
Now, Musk has been closely linked to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with previous reports stating Trump appointed him to the head position.
However, in a court filing earlier this week on Monday (17 February), the White House confirmed that Musk is not actually an employee of DOGE and is, in fact, an Oval Office employee and senior adviser to the president.
The filing, signed by Joshua Fisher, director of the office of administration at the White House, states that the Tesla CEO can only advise Trump and communicate the president’s directives.
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"Like other senior White House advisers, Mr Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself," it said, adding that Musk was not an employee of the US DOGE Service or the US DOGE Service Temporary Organisation.
"Mr Musk is not the US DOGE service administrator," it said.
According to AP News, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to tell reporters at the White House who the DOGE administrator is.
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"Elon Musk, just like everybody else across the federal government, works at the direction of President Trump," she said.
Last Thursday (13 February), a group of state attorneys sued to stop Musk's efforts to cut federal spending.
The lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of New Mexico and 13 other states alleges Trump has given Musk 'unchecked legal authority' without authorisation from the US Congress, Reuters reports.
"Oblivious to the threat this poses to the nation, President Trump has delegated virtually unchecked authority to Mr. Musk without proper legal authorisation from Congress and without meaningful supervision of his activities," the states said, calling Musk an 'agent of chaos' in the government.
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On Tuesday (18 February), Trump and Musk put on a united front as they sat down with Fox News' Sean Hannity at the White House.
The interview aired following speculation of tensions between Trump and Musk over criticism of the latter's reported prominent role in Trump’s administration and suggestions that he was usurping the president’s power, earning the moniker 'President Musk'.