A White House official stated that Elon Musk is limited to advising Trump and relaying the president’s directives.
According to new court filings submitted on February 17, Musk is not affiliated with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and lacks the authority to make decisions, as confirmed by the White House.
Joshua Fisher, a White House official, explained in one of the filed documents that both DOGE and its subunit operate independently of the White House office, where Musk serves as a senior adviser to the president in the capacity of a special government employee.
He stated that “Mr. Musk is an employee in the White House Office. He is not affiliated with the U.S. DOGE Service or the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization.”
Fisher added that Musk holds no more authority than other senior White House advisers and emphasized that, like them, “he possesses no actual or formal authority to make decisions on behalf of the government.”
“Mr. Musk is limited to advising the President and relaying directives from the President,” Fisher affirmed.
In a separate court filing, attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice
noted that Musk’s role is strictly advisory, similar to that of other senior officials in the White House.
The White House has previously stated that Musk is a
special government employee who follows “all applicable federal laws.” President Donald Trump remarked that Musk “can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval, and we’ll grant him approval where appropriate; where it isn’t appropriate, we won’t.”
These filings are part of a lawsuit
initiated by the attorneys general of Arizona, New Mexico, and several other states. The lawsuit claims that the authority granted by Trump to Musk is unconstitutional because Musk was not Senate-confirmed, as is typically required for top executive branch officials.
The motion for a temporary restraining order
states, “Mr. Musk has positioned himself at the highest levels of over a dozen federal agencies and commenced directing agencies’ actions beyond what Senate-confirmed leaders are authorized to do.” It further noted that Musk “is an individual responsible only to the President—if he answers to anyone at all—who is exercising seemingly unlimited power within the Executive Branch.”
During oral arguments on Monday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the case,
expressed reluctance to grant the order against DOGE as requested by the attorneys general. She indicated that a ruling would be forthcoming on Tuesday.
Judge Chutkan also requested the government to provide information regarding layoffs, which have now
reached the thousands.
Following the hearing, government lawyers acknowledged that “a specific set of agencies indeed terminated several employees at the end of last week,” but added that they “cannot make a programmatic representation at this juncture” regarding future agency actions over the next two weeks.
Trump established DOGE shortly after his inauguration. In a February 11 executive order, he
instructed agency heads to create future hiring plans in consultation with DOGE.
While in the Oval Office that day with Musk, Trump encouraged Musk to outline some of the findings of his team.
Musk elaborated on DOGE’s mission, stating its aim is to eliminate waste in an attempt to “restore democracy.”
“I am unaware of any organization that is more transparent than DOGE. The initiatives we’re undertaking are straightforward and fundamental,” he remarked.
Some lawmakers have voiced their criticism regarding DOGE, which has been analyzing data across various executive branch agencies recently.
Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) stated, “No one elected Elon Musk, yet he and his ‘DOGE’ associates evade accountability while playing with Americans’ hard-earned benefits,”
as he introduced a bill named the “Ending DOGE Conflicts Act.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and other Democrats subsequently
urged Musk to publicly release his financial disclosure form, which has yet to be disclosed.
Musk remarked while with Trump: “You can observe everything happening and ascertain whether my actions benefit one of my companies. It’s quite clear.”
He also asserted that he acts only with the president’s consent.
“I confirm with the president to ensure that this aligns with his intentions,” he stated. “We communicate almost daily, and I verify to ensure this is something the President wants us to do. If so, we proceed.”
