When Elon Musk refers to actions taken by the Department of Government Efficiency as "we," he is not actually involved as an employee or leader of the initiative, according to a White House court filing Monday.

In a declaration from Joshua Fisher, the director of the Office of Administration, Musk is described as a "Senior Advisor to the President" as a special government employee and 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.

>https://www.npr.org/2025/02/18/g-s1-49450/elon-musk-doge-leader