WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: Tesla, SpaceX and X CEO Elon Musk arrives to speak during an inauguration event at Capital One Arena on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

‘Wtf is a special government employee?’: Elon Musk’s sketchy new role in the White House is stirring up concern

There have been concerns about Elon Musk’s involvement in the federal government. Now that he’s officially involved with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), there’s skepticism and fear regarding Musk’s security clearance.

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Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked to confirm if Musk is a “special government employee.” The interviewer followed up by asking what type of security clearance Musk has. Leavitt’s answer wasn’t as reassuring as people hoped for it to be. “I can confirm that he is a special government employee. I can also confirm that he has abided by all applicable federal laws.” When asked about background checks, Leavitt restated that she “doesn’t know about the security clearance.”

Social media users on X were in an uproar. The term “special government employee” is vague enough, but there’s little to no transparency with Musk’s security clearance. One X user wrote, “Wtf is a special government employee?” This sentiment summarizes the confusion around Elon Musk’s involvement with sensitive data in the federal government. Other X users also criticized Leavitt for not knowing the details of Musk’s security clearance. He has been able to access sensitive data from several government agencies. It’s almost as if Musk has had free reigns to inspect as he pleases.

Meanwhile, other X users argued that Musk must’ve had a high security clearance even before DOGE. Because SpaceX launches rockets, they assumed that this automatically gave Musk access to confidential information. While this is possible, it’s entirely separate from Musk’s role as a government contractor and as an officer of DOGE. Regardless, scrutiny over security clearance is well-warranted for a social media platform owner that has a vendetta against bureaucracies.

X as propaganda and Musk’s conflicting interests

President Trump signed an executive order that gives DOGE “full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems.” Aside from this, there’s no confirmation if Musk is even permitted to view such sensitive data.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been the target of his recent barrage of slander on X. Baseless conspiracies about Democrats turning the USAID into a money laundering agency have flown across the platform. Keeping up with this misinformed claim online is difficult as is, but this is certainly not all there is to lose. More shockingly, two USAID security officials alleged that Musk and his DOGE team tried to access information that their security clearance could not cover. The consequences of online propaganda are a concern worth discussing. After all, Musk has been able to effectively demonize USAID just through the use of X. But Musk’s ability to take sensitive government data while having business interests in China is another danger altogether.

All of this doesn’t even account for concerns about whether or not social security programs will suffer from Musk’s DOGE cuts. Spinning a story on government over reliance isn’t too far a stretch. While DOGE thankfully cannot force government agencies to be dismantled, Musk and the DOGE team can forcibly disrupt the operations of agencies.


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Vanessa Esguerra
Vanessa Esguerra (She/They) has been a Contributing Writer for The Mary Sue since 2023. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy, she (happily) rejected law school in 2021 and has been a full-time content writer since. Vanessa is currently taking her Master's degree in Japanese Studies in hopes of deepening her understanding of the country's media culture in relation to pop culture, women, and queer people like herself. She speaks three languages but still manages to get lost in the subways of Tokyo with her clunky Japanese. Fueled by iced coffee brewed from local cafés in Metro Manila, she also regularly covers anime and video games while queuing for her next match in League of Legends.