Elon Musk's evolving role in Trump world
Hi there! It’s Rebecca Morin, senior national news reporter at Paste BN. Do you ever just have one of those days where you know you’ll need like 4 cups of coffee to get through the day?
Musk works for the White House, not DOGE
Days after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, he announced that Elon Musk, the world's richest man, would help lead the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE. Earlier this month, the White House then confirmed that Musk was a “special government employee” – meaning he is allowed to work for the federal government with or without compensation for a limited amount of time. But now, court filings say that Musk is actually not leading DOGE, which has led the way in cutting the federal workforce, but is an employee at the White House serving as "senior advisor to the president.” Read more.
- Elon Musk has to fill out a public financial disclosure, legal experts say. Where is it?
- FDA staff were reviewing Elon Musk’s brain implant company. DOGE just fired them.
You asked, On Politics answers: Who does Elon Musk answer to?
Monday’s edition of the newsletter invoked a lot of questions and some – how should I say it– colorful emails. One reader, Bill Davies, had a question that now follows Tuesday’s development on the tech billionaire’s role in the Trump administration: “Who does Elon Musk answer to?”
The short answer: the Trump administration says that Musk answers to the president, Donald Trump.
In a declaration filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Joshua Fisher, director of the Office of Administration, said that Musk “can only advise the President and communicate the President’s directives” in his role as a senior advisor. Fisher underscored that Musk does not have the authority to make decisions and compared Musk to Anita Dunn, who served as former President Joe Biden’s top White House advisor.
A view from Trump's golf course
A politics pit stop
- Pete Hegseth accuses Biden, IRS of politically motivated move to rush his tax audit
- Did Trump just give Byron Donalds the nod for Florida governor?
- New York governor weighs embattled NYC Mayor Eric Adams' fate
- Could Trump's birthday be a federal holiday? Bill proposes just that
- Watch: US officials meet in Saudi Arabia on Ukraine war
Social Security's top official resigns after clash with DOGE
The top official of the Social Security Administration quit over the weekend after the Department of Government Efficiency sought access to sensitive records containing the private information of Americans. Michelle King, the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration who had worked 30 years in the agency, departed from the agency that oversees retiree and disability benefits received by 73 million people. Read more.
Got a burning question, or comment, for On Politics? You can submit them here or send me an email at rdmorin@usatoday.com.