Elon Musk will work under President Donald Trump as a “special government employee,” designating Musk as an unpaid employee of the federal government with fewer restrictions than full-time employees, according to the White House, as Musk’s so-called Department Of Government Efficiency has involved itself in multiple federal agencies in recent days.
The Tesla CEO was tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency. ... [+]
Musk was named a “special government employee” and has received a government email address and office space within the White House, a White House official told multiple outlets including the Associated Press, though it’s not immediately clear when Musk received the designation (the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment).
Musk will not be paid while working for the government, a person familiar with his employment told CNN, which may help Musk avoid having to fill out financial disclosure forms; a public financial disclosure report is only required if an employee is paid and serves more than 60 days, according to the Department of Justice.
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A special government employee is anyone working or expecting to work for the federal government for up to 130 days, according to Justice Department guidelines. The role is subject to most rules and guidelines that apply to full-time employees, though they are often “less restrictive” because their roles are temporary, including fewer restrictions on conflicts of interests, the agency noted. Special government employees are prohibited from participating in matters that may feature financial conflicts of interest, including matters that could affect an organization or company they work for. The employees are also prevented from using their role to influence or interfere with an election or engage in political activity while on duty.
It’s not immediately clear whether Musk, whose SpaceX holds federal contracts worth billions of dollars, violates ethics agreements for federal employees. The U.S. Agency for International Development, which Musk has criticized and called to abolish, holds two active contracts with Musk’s satellite internet firm Starlink, though funds from those contracts have been spent. Ann Skeet, director of leadership ethics at Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center, suggested to the Associated Press that Musk was “in a position to try and curry favor” for his companies, including possible incentives for his social media platform X, Tesla, his AI startup xAI and brain implant maker Neuralink. Trump said Monday that Musk would be kept away from interacting with aspects of government that could be a conflict of interest, saying if “there’s a problem, we won’t let him go near it.”
Musk’s role in the Trump administration followed months of his support for Trump’s campaign, during which the world’s richest man gave more than $200 million toward pro-Trump efforts. Trump announced Musk would lead his administration’s cost-cutting efforts as head of the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency, a task force-like department which Musk vowed would cut government spending and align federal agencies’ work with his ideological beliefs. The Trump administration has also reportedly granted Musk and his DOGE team control of the Treasury Department’s payment system, which disburses funds throughout the federal government. DOGE has tried to make other changes to the federal government in recent weeks: team members tried to enter offices for USAID—an agency that provides humanitarian relief to foreign countries—over the weekend, as Musk tweeted it was time for the agency “to die.”