White House says Elon Musk is not in charge of DOGE — legally, anyway

Updated February 18, 2025 at 18:53 PM ET

A federal judge on Tuesday denied an effort by Democratic state attorneys general to temporarily halt the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing data or terminating workers at certain federal agencies.

Though the judge sided with DOGE, she seemed skeptical of Elon Musk's role with the entity.

Her ruling followed a government filing Monday night that Musk wasn't technically involved as an employee or leader of the initiative.

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What the judge ruled

In a lawsuit, Democratic attorneys general from 14 states alleged among other things that Musk's nebulous role in the administration is illegal and violates the separation of powers assigned by the U.S. Constitution.

The AGs argued that President Trump has "delegated virtually unchecked authority to Mr. Musk without proper legal authorization from Congress."

At a hearing Monday in the case, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan — an appointee of former President Barack Obama — expressed skepticism at the sweeping request the plaintiffs made to halt DOGE work, but was also skeptical at the claim from government lawyers that Musk had no authority to make governmental decisions.

On Tuesday, Chutkan denied a request for a temporary restraining order because, she wrote, there was not "clear evidence of imminent, irreparable harm to these Plaintiffs."

But she also admonished lawyers for the government who said DOGE had no authority over personnel actions and wrote: "Plaintiffs legitimately call into question what appears to be the unchecked authority of an unelected individual and an entity that was not created by Congress and over which it has no oversight."

The White House says Musk is not in charge of DOGE — legally, anyway

Meanwhile, a White House court filing in the lawsuit acknowledges that Musk is not an employee of DOGE or its leader.

In a declaration Monday from Joshua Fisher, the director of the Office of Administration, Musk is described as a White House employee. He holds the position, the declaration states, as a special government employee who serves as a "Senior Advisor to the President."

The filing goes on to say that Musk is not an employee of the separate U.S. DOGE Service (USDS) or the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization tasked with improving government technology and cutting spending or staffing.

"In his role as a Senior Advisor to the President, Mr. Musk has no greater authority than other senior White House advisors," the filing reads. "Like other senior White House advisors, 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."

The White House filing also says Musk is not the USDS administrator in charge of the DOGE effort, and did not mention who holds that position.

The filing's characterization of Musk's role contradicts the public representations made by Musk, DOGE and Trump about the billionaire's position in the federal government, and continues to raise questions about the operations of an effort that Musk claimed to be "maximally transparent."

When Trump first announced DOGE, it was pitched as an outside review of the government co-led by Musk and former GOP presidential candidate and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

On Trump's first day in office, one of his many executive actions was to make DOGE a government entity, renaming the United States Digital Service and moving that organization under the umbrella of the Executive Office of the President.

Just last week, Musk was in the Oval Office standing next to Trump answering questions about DOGE, referring to "our actions" taken to direct agencies to cancel contracts and make other changes.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Trump said: "Elon is, to me, a patriot. So you know, you could call him an employee, you could call him a consultant. You could call him whatever you want, but he's a patriot."

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