WASHINGTON, USA — The White House has denied that billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, the federal task force tasked with identifying $2 trillion in spending cuts, despite repeated assertions by President Donald Trump that Musk was in charge.
In a court filing on Monday, February 17, 2025, White House Office of Administration Director Joshua Fisher stated that Musk “is not an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service or U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization” and “is not the U.S. DOGE Service Administrator.”
Instead, Fisher described Musk as a “senior adviser to the president” with “no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself.”
Contradictions in Trump’s Statements
The declaration appears to contradict multiple public statements made by Trump since the task force was announced during the presidential transition period.
In November, Trump told reporters that Musk would “lead” the initiative, which was created to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in government spending.
Just earlier this month, Trump praised Musk’s role in overseeing DOGE, stating on February 7, “Elon is doing a great job. He’s finding tremendous fraud and corruption and waste. I’ll tell him to go here or there and he does it.”
Three days later, in a Fox News interview, Trump elaborated on Musk’s role, explaining that he planned to send him from department to department to uncover inefficiencies.
“I’m going to tell him very soon, like maybe in 24 hours, to go check the Department of Education,” Trump said.
“Then I’m going to go, go to the military. Let’s check the military… We’re going to find billions, hundreds of millions of dollars of fraud and abuse.”
Musk’s Own Statements Raise Further Questions
Musk himself has publicly implied that he was leading DOGE.
On February 4, responding to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s concerns about the task force accessing Treasury payment systems, Musk tweeted: “DOGE has not looked at, nor is there any interest in, private financial data. What would we even do with it?”
Two days earlier, he had tweeted: “DOGE is working 120 hours a week. Our bureaucratic opponents optimistically work 40 hours a week.”
DOGE is working 120 hour a week. Our bureaucratic opponents optimistically work 40 hours a week. That is why they are losing so fast. https://t.co/dXtrL5rj1K
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 2, 2025
Despite these remarks, the White House maintains that Musk does not have decision-making authority within DOGE, raising questions about who, if anyone, is actually leading the task force.
Lawsuits Over DOGE Operations
The lack of clarity over DOGE’s leadership has sparked legal challenges, including lawsuits from multiple state attorneys general seeking to prevent Musk and his allies from accessing federal data or terminating government employees.
The lawsuits argue that DOGE’s activities violate the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which requires that senior executive branch officials be confirmed by the Senate.
Critics have also raised concerns about reports that a group of Musk-affiliated young tech workers—many with little to no government experience—have been given access to sensitive federal systems.
Pending Court Ruling
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has ruled an emergency motion that would have blocked Musk from accessing federal data or influencing hiring and firing decisions within the government.
However, on Tuesday, she ruled in favour of the Trump administration.
As legal battles unfold, questions persist over the true extent of Musk’s influence in the federal government’s cost-cutting initiative and whether the White House’s recent court filing signals an attempt to distance itself from potential legal fallout.
