In a surprising about face, President Donald Trump insists Tesla CEO Elon Musk is not in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Trump has disavowed any knowledge that Musk is running things at DOGE. However, the White House did say that Musk is Trump’s senior adviser.
The White House says Musk is not technically part of DOGE that fired thousands of federal workers at the IRS, U.S. Treasury, CDC, VA, FDIC, HHS, and other agencies.
Multiple lawsuits have been filed as a result of the “illegal” mass firings.
The news comes as a surprise because Trump campaigned on creating DOGE – with Musk at the helm – to eliminate government waste.
“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,” Trump said in December 2024.
In an affidavit filed in federal court on Tuesday, a White House official clarified that Elon Musk is not the administrator of the newly formed DOGE.
The filing did not provide any information about who oversees DOGE.
Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan is presiding over a lawsuit that challenges Musk’s authority to fire government workers and have unlimited access to government systems.
“DOGE appears to be moving in no sort of predictable and orderly fashion,” Judge Chutkan said. “This is essentially a private citizen directing an organization that’s not a federal agency to have access to the entire workings of the federal government, fire, hire, slash, contract, terminate programs, all without apparently any congressional oversight.”
Critics warned that Musk’s team includes unvetted nerds and hackers – ages 19-26 – who have access to extremely sensitive government systems with no checks and balances.
One of the nerds – 19-year-old Edward Coristine, who goes by the username “Big Balls” on social media, was recently fired from a cybersecurity company for leaking secrets.
Coristine worked at Musk’s Neuralink before joining DOGE.
One former FBI agent has said he would not have recommended Coristine for government work.
