The White House has clarified that Elon Musk holds no formal authority in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), despite his close advisory role to President Donald Trump.
In a court filing on Monday, Joshua Fisher, Director of the Office of Administration, stated that Musk is a Senior Advisor to the President but not an official employee of DOGE.
“Like other senior White House advisors, Mr. Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself. He can only advise the President and communicate directives,” Fisher explained.
Trump had previously declared Musk the leader of DOGE, an agency focused on government cost-cutting, including mass layoffs. However, the filing disputes claims that Musk directly runs the agency, noting that he is not the Temporary Administrator of the U.S. DOGE Service.
The statement was submitted in response to a lawsuit filed against Musk by 14 U.S. states, including New Mexico.
Meanwhile, in an upcoming Fox News interview, Trump dismissed speculation that Musk was controlling the White House, saying:
“I think nobody in history has ever gotten more bad publicity than me… But you know what I have learned, Elon? That people are smart, they get it.”
Musk responded: “Yeah, they do actually.”
