White House officials said Elon Musk could only advise Trump and pass on the president’s instructions.
Elon Musk is not an employee of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and has no authority to make decisions, the White House said in a new court filing on February 17.
The Doge and Doge subunits are separate from the White House office, with Musk employed as a special civil servant, a senior adviser to the president, and White House civil servant Joshua Fisher, one of the documents. stated in.
“Mr. Musk is an employee of the White House office. He is not an employee of the US Doge Services or temporary organizations of US Doge Services,” writes Fisher. “Mr. Musk is not a US doge service administrator.”
Fisher also said Musk doesn’t have as much power as other senior White House advisors, and like other advisors, “there is no actual or formal authority to make government decisions on its own.”
“Mr. Musk can only advise the president and pass on his directions,” Fischer wrote.
In another submission, a U.S. Department of Justice lawyer said that masks are employed by the White House rather than the Doge.
The White House previously said that Musk is a special government employee and remains under “all applicable federal laws.” President Donald Trump said that Musk “doesn’t do anything and does nothing without our approval, so we give him approval if necessary. If it’s not appropriate, we don’t.”
The filing was entered as part of a lawsuit filed by the Arizona Attorney General, New Mexico and other states. The complaint argues that officials Trump gave masks are unconstitutional as the masks were not confirmed by the Senate.
“Mr. Musk has begun to direct the agency’s actions in a way beyond the leader’s authority that accompany the Senate. Musk said, “If only the president is personally accountable, he answers anyone.” If so, they are clearly using infinite power within the administrative department.”
During oral debate on Monday, US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who oversees the case, was apparently reluctant to issue an order against Doge as requested by the Attorney General. She said she would give a sentence Tuesday.
The Chatkan also asked the government to provide her with information about the government’s layoffs.
The government entered the application after the hearing, and while the lawyers recognize that “the set of agencies selected last weekend actually ended many employees,” he said, “at this point we will make a programmatic representation.” “We can’t do that.” About how agents will act over the next two weeks.
Trump formed a doge shortly after taking office. In the executive order on February 11th, he instructed the agency’s director to consult with Doge to develop a future employment plan.
When he appeared with Musk in his oval office that day, Trump said Musk should detail some of what his team found.
Musk said what he said was Doge’s goal. He was to reduce waste to “restore democracy.”
“I don’t know of cases where organizations are more transparent than DOGE organizations. I think what we’re doing is very simple and fundamental,” he said.
Some lawmakers have been critical of Doge, which has been researching data across government agencies in recent weeks.
“No one elected Elon Musk, but Musk and his ‘doge’ companions continue to dodge accountability while playing the hard-earned profits of Americans,” John Larson The Bill, which the lawmaker (D-Conn.) mentioned in a recent statement when he introduced, was called the “End Doge Dispute Act.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and other Democrats later urged Musk to publish a financial disclosure form that has not yet been published.
Musk said with Trump. That’s totally obvious. ”
Musk also said he would not act without the president’s approval.
“I check with the president to make sure this is what the president wants to happen,” he said. “We talk almost every day and I reconfirm things and confirm. Something is this, President, do you want us to do this? And then we do that.”
