Billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the Donald Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is working for the US president as a “special government employee," the Associated Press reported citing a White House official as saying.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, revealed that the Tesla CEO has been given an office space and a government email address and is not paid for his work.
In the US, special government employees typically serve for up to 130 days. Recently, President Trump gave Elon Musk the green light for his work on Sunday, shortly after returning to Washington from a weekend getaway in Florida.
“I think Elon is doing a good job. He’s a big cost-cutter," the Republican president said. “Sometimes we won’t agree with it, and we’ll not go where he wants to go. But I think he’s doing a great job,” AP quoted Trump saying.
Musk reportedly spent a whopping $290 million in the 2024 US presidential election to support Donald Trump's campaign against Democrat Kamala Harris.
This investment was revealed in fresh documents filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Democrats are sounding the alarm, worried that Musk is amassing too much power within the federal government. They fear that the billionaire is operating without proper oversight and possibly even breaking the law.
Also read: President Donald Trump agrees USAID needs to be ‘shut down’: Elon Musk
'Musk only acting with approval,' says Trump
Trump said that Musk was only undertaking tasks after his approval.
While speaking to reporters at the White House, the US president said that Musk “will not be allowed to go places where there is a conflict”.
(With inputs from agencies)