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Elon Musk's ‘special’ job title revealed as Trump Press Secretary stumbles over his security clearance; ‘Not sure, but…’
The official title of Elon Musk, who is heading Trump's newly created DOGE department, was revealed by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
The official title of billionaire Elon Musk, who is heading Donald Trump's newly created DOGE department, was revealed by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Speaking about Musk, Leavitt stated he is a “special government employee”, who abides by all applicable federal laws.
On his security clearance, she said, “As for his security clearance, I'm not sure, but I can check...I don't know about the security clearance, but I can check.”
Know about special government employee designation
Musk, the ardent Trump supporter who has been tasked with a mission to reduce federal government spending, is neither a full-time employee nor a volunteer. The ethics and conflict-of-interest rules that special government employees must follow are usually less strict than those that apply to federal employees. As they are temporary jobs, they are exempt from some of the disclosure requirements that apply to full-time positions.
Such personnel can work up to 130 days in a calendar year, according to the Justice Department website. For instance, Musk could work half a day and it would only count as half a day.
“A special government employee is anyone who works, or is expected to work, for the government for 130 days or less in a 365-day period,” the department's website says. “Special government employees are subject to most rules, although sometimes in a less restrictive way.”
According to CNN, Musk is neither a volunteer, nor a full-time federal employee.
Know about DOGE
Trump appointed Musk to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This came after Trump's executive order on his first day in office renamed the U.S. Digital Service as the U.S. DOGE Service and established DOGE inside the Executive Office of the President.
Under the executive order, DOGE was mandated to “maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
Members of the DOGE team can include agency employees or recently hired temporary workers who are classified as special government employees, like Musk.
