Elon Musk is a «special government employee» of Trump, according to the White House

The participation of billionaire Elon Musk in the Trump administration has been officially clarified. The White House Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed on Monday that Musk is a «special government employee» that operates within the legal parameters. «I can confirm that (Musk) is a special government employee and that he is complying with all applicable federal laws,» said Leavitt, although he could not confirm whether Musk, who does not occupy a formal position in the cabinet, has obtained a security authorization to access confidential data.

Musk has gathered a team of young engineers who depend directly on him. During the weekend, this team obtained access to the payment systems of the Treasury Department and the servers of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In some cases, Musk has publicly denounced certain transactions discovered by his team as inappropriate.

Musk’s team and his mandate

According to the Department of Justice, a «special government employee» is defined as «any person who is working or expects to work for the government 130 days or less for a period of 365 days.» CNN sources indicate that MUSK does not receive a salary for its services as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). CBS News reports that Musk has an office in the west wing of the White House and has been seen there with one of his children.

Speaking to journalists in the Oval Office, Trump said that Musk is acting appropriately and does not believe that there is any conflict of interest in the supervision and audit of federal expenses by Musk. «He is doing things in the right way … and all we do is completely legal,» Trump said. He emphasized that Musk operates under his authority and «cannot and will do nothing without our approval.»

Controversy and opposition

The team of six Musk engineers, whom he described jokingly in X as they work «24 hours a day, 7 days a week», has taken control of key areas within the Treasury Department, the Management Office Personnel (OPM) and General Services Administration (GSA). These actions, which sometimes require access to confidential federal systems, as reported, have found resistance from career officials within these agencies.

The most recent controversy point involves USAID. Agency’s employees have been accused of «insubordination» by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has assumed the role of acting administrator. Musk has described USAID, the world’s largest international aid organization, as a «criminal organization» and has advocated its immediate closure.