With a myriad of new executive orders, mass firings, and the shuttering of critical US departments like USAID and the Department of Education, many Americans are worried that 2025 will see the rise of tyranny and the fall of democracy in our country. Though most of the concern lies with the newly sworn-in President, some are starting to worry that Trump may not be as in charge as he wants Americans to think he is.
As the appointed head of the new Department of Government Efficiency, Musk has been the brains behind orders to halt government spending on programs to aid the world’s most impoverished. Causing major concerns over breaches in sensitive information due to his request to access all American social security information, as well as numerous crises following the mass firings of federal workers, many have called into question the legality of Musk’s appointment and the dangers of letting a man with so many conflicts of interest run one of the most influential departments of the federal government.
Now, amid lawsuits that claim Musk has too much power for a non-elected government official, the White House has released a new statement – Musk is not the department head of DOGE but rather an influential advisor to the President. “Elon Musk, just like everybody else across the federal government, works at the direction of President Trump,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday. However, she declined to answer who the real head of DOGE is, if not Musk.
Despite insistence that Trump is still running things and Musk remains merely an advisor to the President, a strange Oval Office address given by Trump and Musk early last week has led to even more speculation over his role in the government. During an address to the press last Wednesday, Musk stood next to Trump, seated at the Oval Office desk, and proceeded to speak more than Trump throughout the exchange.
At one point, the press addressed the concerns of thousands of Democrats nationwide. “Your detractors say that you’re orchestrating a hostile takeover of the government and doing it in a nontransparent way,” the press said before asking Musk to comment on the “criticism.”
“You couldn’t have asked for a stronger mandate from the public,” Musk insisted, reiterating that Donald Trump won the popular vote in the 2024 election. “The people voted for major government reform; there should be no doubt about that. That was on the campaign; the President spoke about that at every rally.” Musk refused to address the fact that he was not a part of the elected Trump administration and, in fact, doubled down in defense of DOGE’s mass firings of federal workers by insisting that unelected bureaucrats do not have a place in government – despite himself being an unelected bureaucrat.
When addressing concerns over transparency and his conflict of interest in making decisions regarding departments that regulate his companies, Musk assured the reporters that DOGE remains transparent by posting information to his social media platform, X.
Perhaps the most apparent signifier that Musk holds more power over Trump than he’s letting on came in the middle of the press conference, when his four-year-old son, who was present during the entire event, whispered to Trump, “You shush your… mouth” and “You’re not the President.”
Though he continues to insist that his power is limited and transparent, Musk’s influence may be more powerful than he realizes.
