White House Claims Musk is Not DOGE Employee and Does Not Lead Agency
The White House said Monday that Elon Musk is not an employee of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and doesn’t lead the agency, instead solely serving as a senior advisor to President Donald Trump.
“Like other senior White House advisors, Mr. Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself. Mr. Musk can only advise the President and communicate the President’s directives,” Joshua Fisher, the director of the White House’s Office of Administration, wrote in the court filing.
Fisher’s declaration was filed in response to the lawsuit brought Thursday by 14 states to block Musk and DOGE’s actions, like freezing federal funding, accessing agency data and taking over agencies. The states claimed these actions are unconstitutional abuses of power and that Musk wields the power of an official that must be formally appointed and confirmed by the Senate.
Fisher explained in the legal filing that Musk is a special Government Employee (SGE), which according to federal law is a temporary employee appointed to serve in the executive or legislative branch for no more than 130 consecutive days in a one-year period.
He said it’s not “not uncommon for the President to have Senior Advisors who are SGEs,” referencing Anita Dunn, one of former President Joe Biden’s senior advisors. Fisher also stated that Musk “has no greater authority than other senior White House advisors.”
In the case filed by more than a dozen states, the plaintiffs said Trump “has transformed a minor position that was formerly responsible for managing government websites into a designated agent of chaos without limitation and in violation of the separation of powers.”
Also, in another lawsuit filed against DOGE last week, U.S. Agency for International Development employees said Musk is “exercising an unprecedented level of control over the federal government.”
Fisher further explained that the “U.S. DOGE Service” is separate from the White House, and Musk is a White House employee. He said Musk is not “an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service” and “is not the U.S. DOGE Service Administrator.”
This directly conflicts with Trump’s Nov. 12 statement, in which he said, “I am pleased to announce that the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency.”
Ramaswamy is no longer serving in this role, but the numerous lawsuits filed against DOGE explicitly claim that Musk still is.
The same day the White House filed this statement, Judge Tanya Chutkan held a hearing in the 14 states’ federal case on a temporary restraining order to block DOGE’s actions immediately while litigation continues, and a ruling hasn’t yet been issued.