The special status of Elon Musk in the inner circle of Donald Trump was strongly defined during the president's latest cabinet meeting.
Surrounded by department heads such as Marco Rubio, Robert F Kennedy and Pete Hegseeth, Musk stood out for more than his red hat.
Each of the other men around the table had a place with their name and title – National Security Advisor, State Secretary, Minister of Defense.
Expected for a: the Tesla -Baas only had his name 'Elon Musk'.
The missing title was a visual representation of the controversial role that the richest man in the world plays as one of Trump's best advisers.
After having spent a chainsaw to public service for the past two months, his critics call him the non -chosen 'first buddy' who used illegally enormous power over Americans.
Liberals such as Senator Bernie Sanders and and congress member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have been sent in a downward spiral about his growing influence in the White House, it calls an 'non-chosen oligarchy'.
Elon Musk's table location at a cabinet meeting on Monday only had his name – unlike others around him who also had their titles
Surrounded by department heads such as Marco Rubio, Robert F Kennedy and Pete Hegseeth, he stood out for more than his red hat
Thousands of demonstrators gathered on President Day in Washington, DC and other major cities in a 'not my president', because many of the signs convicted as a non -chosen doge 'king'.
“Elon takes your Nazis and go to Mars,” was a plate. Other signs read 'Burn a Tesla, Save Democracy', 'Deport Nazi Musk' and 'You Can't Felon Without Elon'.
Musk is officially a 'special government officer' entitled 'Senior adviser of the president', according to official documents.
The Ministry of Government Efficiency is not an official department led by a cabinet secretary and therefore does not need approval from the Senate.
Judicial archives last month also made it clear that Musk is 'not the American doge service administrator' in an official capacity.
“In his role as a senior adviser to the president, Mr. Musk has no greater authority than other senior advisers of the White House,” the court noted.
The document added that he had 'no actual or formal authority' to make decisions himself.
He is an employee of the White House and not an employee or service manager of Doge, a temporary organization within the President's executive office.
Each of the other men around the table had a place with their name and title – National Security Advisor, State Secretary, Minister of Defense
Musk wore a red hat in Maga-style that said: 'Trump was right about everything' in all caps
Trump, Musk and others in the administration regularly play or play down the role of Musk and the forces in the government, depending on the situation.
The president has made it clear several times that Musk led the show in Doge, regardless of what was on paper.
Musk has said that Doge is 'almost' in every federal department and has dismissed tens of thousands of government employees in the name of cost savings.
But on other occasions he tried to minimize his responsibility – even wearing a T -shirt that reads 'tech support' for an oval office photo.
“Elon Musk is a special government employee and has held up all the appropriate federal laws,” said Witte Huis Pers Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Trump and cabinet officials spent almost an hour talking about their performance and answering questions from journalists in the White House.
Musk wore a red hat in Maga-style that said: 'Trump was right about everything' in all caps.
For Trump, these have been opportunities to emphasize the progress of his administration on his agenda, such as increasing deportations and reducing the federal workforce.
Musk sat at the foot of the table, directly opposite Trump, during the meeting of an hour -long
They are also a showcase for the influence of Musk. Towards the end of the meeting of Monday, Trump praised the billionaire entrepreneur as 'a patriot' who serves his country selflessly.
“Elon never asked me for anything,” he said.
Special government employees are often used by presidential administrations, because they were founded in 1962, to fill talent gaps with specialized knowledge and expertise, without having to make full -time employees.
Trump's AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks is another in his administration and Joe Biden appointed communication advisor Anita Dunn during his presidency.
But SGES are usually limited to a very limited focus, such as bags, and never so far the influence of Musk.
This, together with Musk's owned by Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink – who receive government contracts – legislators are concerned about conflicts of interest.
A demonstrator protests against the policy of US President Donald Trump and executive orders during the American holiday, Presidents' Day
Senator Ron Wyden, the top democrat in the Senate Finance Committee, emphasized these concerns in a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on 31 January when DOGE tried to gain access to the payment system of the department.
“I am working on the enormous business activities of Musk in China – a country whose intelligence services have stolen enormous amounts of sensitive data about Americans, including US government data by hacking US government systems – endangers the American cyber security and creates conflicts of interest that makes his access to a national safety,” he wrote.
Leavitt has tried to put such worries aside when he was asked for them at her press briefings.
“Taking care of conflicts between Elon Musk and Doge has stated President Trump that he will not allow conflicts, and Elon has promised himself to recover himself from possible conflicts,” she said.
'Doge has been incredibly transparent about what they do, daily updates about X placed and update their website.
People participate in a “Teslatakedown” protest against Elon Musk
“It is standard practice for administrations to hire people as special government employees to concentrate on specific issues, based on their external experience, for a limited period.”
“All SGES fill in the correct paperwork, receive briefings on ethical rules, including the conflicts of interest and adhere to all applicable federal laws.”
The president has also tried to reassure Americans that he and his administration looked at Musk for conflicts of interest or a lack of transparency.
The employees of the federal law prohibit government workers to participate in person and substantially in official matters where they have a financial interest '.
This also applies to 'their spouse, minor child, general partner and certain other persons and organizations'.
They can apply for an exemption from this rule if their 'interest is not great' or are seen as an important one that weigh heavier than the conflict.
SGES have also set restrictions to them to go with their status. It is only expected that they work before the government in a 365 -day period, for the government for 130 days or less.
