WASHINGTON: Elon Musk is not an official employee of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and has “no formal authority to make government decisions”, according to a White House court filing.

The world’s richest man is widely seen as the de-facto head of DOGE, created by US President Donald Trump, which has sought drastically to reduce government spending including with thousands of job cuts. Trump had announced in November that “the Great Elon Musk... will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (‘DOGE’).”

According to the filing on Monday by Joshua Fisher, director of the Office of Administration, Musk “is an employee of the White House... as a non-career Special Government Employee” and a “Senior Adviser to the President.” “Like other senior White House advisers, Mr Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself. Mr Musk can only advise the President and communicate the President’s directives,” Fisher said.

“The US DOGE Service is a component of the Executive Office of the President. The US DOGE Service Temporary Organisation is within the US DOGE Service. Both are separate from the White House Office,” he said in the filing.

“Mr Musk is an employee of the White House Office. He is not an employee of the US DOGE Service or US DOGE Service Temporary Organisation. Mr Musk is not the Temporary Administrator,” he added.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2025