Washington Elon Musk is a “special government employee,” according to a White House official, working for the Trump administration.
With this status, Musk, the tech entrepreneur and ardent Trump supporter whom Trump has sent on a federal government cost-cutting mission, is neither a full-time employee nor a volunteer. workers of special government are expected to adhere to ethical and conflict of interest rules that are often less stringent than those of federal workers. Some of the disclosure requirements for full-time positions are circumvented because it is a temporary post.
Musk was appointed head of Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), an advising commission outside the government.
The Congressional Research Service reports that special federal employees are constrained in the number of days they can work annually, which is more than 130 days in a year.
Trump stated on Monday that Musk won’t always get his way and that his DOGE would not take any action without the White House’s consent.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, “Elon can’t and won’t do anything without our approval, and we’ll give him the approval where appropriate, and where not appropriate, we won’t.” “He reports in … But he does have a good natural instinct.”
Musk has been keen to highlight what he claims is the political benefit of reducing government spending, writing on Monday on his social media platform X that “cutting government spending polls higher than anything else.”
Critics claim that Musk’s SpaceX may have a conflict of interest because it has secured billions of dollars in government contracts with the federal government.