Fox News host Sandra Smith pressed White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on whether billionaire Elon Musk was an official employee of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), despite President Donald Trump repeatedly claiming his ally leads the agency.
In a court filing on Monday, the White House stated that Musk had no legal connection to DOGE. Instead, he was described as a “Senior Advisor to the President.” “Like other senior White House advisors, Mr. Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself. Mr. Musk can only advise the President and communicate the President’s directives,” the document stated, appearing to distance Musk from direct accountability.
On Monday, Smith pressed Leavitt about the affidavit: “The president has introduced him as the head of DOGE multiple times in interviews, yet there’s this affidavit that we’ve been able to get our hands on here, that the press has as well, that it contradicts the White House claim that he’s the head of DOGE. This affidavit actually says he doesn’t work for DOGE at all.”
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“I’m happy to clarify,” Leavitt responded. “Elon Musk is a special government employee here at the White House, serving at the direction of the president of the United States, Donald Trump.” She further elaborated, saying, “Elon Musk has been tasked with overseeing DOGE on behalf of the president, and DOGE employees, told Fox News.
DOGE folks have been onboarding at respective agencies across our federal bureaucracy as political appointees, just like any other political appointee gets on board with a new administration with the changing of hands, and those individuals are helping the secretaries at all of our agencies that have been nominated and confirmed by President Trump in the United States Senate to cut waste, fraud, and abuse at these respective agencies.”
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Democrats have urged Musk to testify before Congress regarding his role and influence in the administration, but he has yet to accept their invitation. The controversy continues to spark debate over the extent of Musk’s involvement in federal governance and whether his advisory position extends beyond informal counsel.
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