‘Not an employee’: LOL, Elon Musk isn’t in charge of DOGE after all

Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been wreaking havoc on the government. Yet, a White House source now claims Musk isn’t even a DOGE employee.

The claim is just the latest chapter in the absurd DOGE saga. Prior to his inauguration, Donald Trump announced Musk would be the head of DOGE, a department that is supposed to oversee the government’s budget. The situation was unusual from the onset because the president can’t create a department without an act of Congress, so DOGE isn’t an official department. DOGE’s unofficial status made it even stranger and more concerning when it began infiltrating every corner of the government and, likely illegally, accessing classified government information, freezing funds, dismantling departments, and instigating mass layoffs. It has already run into legal challenges, with a federal judge ruling it had no right to access Treasury pay systems and ordering it to delete any sensitive information it downloaded.

Further concerns arose over the high likelihood that DOGE’s young, inexperienced staffers wouldn’t pass background checks required for security clearance, yet were being instated in “senior advisor” roles and appointed by Musk to access classified information in departments ranging from the Treasury to the Energy Department. To add to the chaos and confusion, the White House now claims Musk isn’t even in charge of DOGE.

Is Elon Musk the head of DOGE?

Director of the Office of Administration Joshua Fisher sparked confusion when he claimed in a sworn declaration that Musk is not in charge of DOGE. In fact, he insisted that Musk isn’t an employee of DOGE at all. He stated, “[Musk] is not an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service or U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization. Mr. Musk is not the U.S. DOGE Service Administrator.” Instead, he claimed Musk is now a “senior advisor” to the president, stating, “He holds that position as a non-career Special Government Employee. In that job, Mr. Musk is a Senior Advisor to the President.”

Interestingly, Fisher emphasized that Musk’s position is the same as every other senior advisor, meaning he can only “advise the President and communicate the President’s directives” but cannot “make government decisions himself.” The declaration fails to clarify who is in charge of DOGE if it’s allegedly not Musk. It also directly contradicts Trump’s official statement naming Musk, as well as Vivek Ramaswamy, the heads of DOGE.

The declaration appears to be an attempt to avoid legal action, as DOGE, Musk, and Trump are facing a lawsuit over Musk’s level of power. Democratic attorneys general across 14 states filed the lawsuit accusing Trump of unconstitutionally instating Musk as the head of DOGE. Not only did he circumvent Congress by creating an unofficial department, but he also went around the Senate by not nominating Musk for a cabinet position that would’ve required Senate approval. So, now the White House is backtracking and insisting Musk isn’t actually the head of DOGE and hasn’t committed a single act himself but has only “advised” the President.

In trying to avoid a lawsuit, though, Fisher’s statement raises several additional questions. It begs the question of why Trump explicitly stated Musk was the head of DOGE, who is actually running DOGE now, and if they’re admitting Musk illegally accessed classified government information since he allegedly wasn’t doing so as part of his work for DOGE as ordered by the President. The sudden scramble to change Musk’s official title also makes one wonder what will become of the lawsuit and if the Trump administration realized it had legal ground.