Elon Musk Is Dismantling the Government, but Does He Have an Official Position?

When Donald Trump was elected president, few people anticipated that Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, would so involved in every aspect of his administration. Musk has dismantled a number of different federal agencies, and reporting suggests that he has brought in people from his orbit to help him with the dismantling.

Given the level of disruption that Musk has brought into the federal government and the chaos he might unleash, many want to know more about whether he has any sort of official position inside the administration. Here's what we know.

The answer to that seems to be yes. He obviously wasn't elected, but Musk has been named a "special government employee" by the White House, which means that he is unpaid and that he has fewer restrictions than full-time employees working at the White House.

It's not clear when Musk actually received that designation, although what is clear is that he has used it, and the Department of Governmental Efficiency, to dismantle entire pieces of the federal government.

Special government employee is a designation inside of the Department of Justice that describes any employee who is expected to work for the government for under 130 days. It's unclear whether that is really the case for Musk, but that's the designation he has been granted. While they are subject to most of the rules regular federal employees face, those rules are often less strictly enforced because of the temporary nature of the role.

Special government employees are prohibited from working on any projects in which they might have a conflict of interest because of their personal finances, though. While it's not immediately clear whether Musk has such financial interests, it does seem like the richest man in the world might have some interest in disassembling many of the agencies, like the IRS, that are designed to regulate both his wealth and his businesses.

Although many people who voted for Donald Trump undoubtedly wanted him to shake up the federal government, it's unclear whether this is what they signed up for. Musk, who was not elected by anyone and only received this position because of his vocal and financial support for Trump, has dismantled several key agencies, and those on his team have gained access to the sensitive financial data of millions of Americans.

Musk might have a government position, but DOGE is not a real agency, and he has not been confirmed by Congress or gone through any sort of background check. Although there's a veneer of regular order over these actions, they are fundamentally irregular and are not the way that the government should operate.

Congress is supposed to appropriate funds, and the executive branch's role is to use that funding to fulfill what the law requires. Under Musk's approach, the executive branch is unilaterally deciding which things are worth paying for and which aren't. No one elected him to do that.