{"id":3955,"date":"2025-02-04T22:17:28","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T22:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/the-white-house-says-elon-musk-is-a-special-government-employee-heres-what-that-means\/"},"modified":"2025-02-04T22:17:28","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T22:17:28","slug":"the-white-house-says-elon-musk-is-a-special-government-employee-heres-what-that-means","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/the-white-house-says-elon-musk-is-a-special-government-employee-heres-what-that-means\/","title":{"rendered":"The White House says Elon Musk is a &#8220;special government employee.&#8221; Here&#8217;s what that means."},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>Billionaire Elon Musk is categorized as a &#8220;special government employee&#8221; through his work with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a cost-cutting initiative created by President Trump to find ways to trim federal spending.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Musk&#8217;s employee status was confirmed by White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt on Monday, although she added that she wasn&#8217;t sure whether the Tesla CEO has gained security clearance.<\/p>\n<p>DOGE, which isn&#8217;t a federal department, has drawn criticism from Democratic lawmakers and sparked several <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/elon-musk-doge-lawsuit-january-20-trump-inauguration\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">lawsuits<\/a><\/span> since Mr. Trump&#8217;s inauguration on Jan. 20, with some claiming Musk&#8217;s DOGE is violating various laws. For instance, two unions and the Alliance for Retired Americans, an advocacy group for older people and retirees, sued on Feb. 3 over DOGE&#8217;s <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/musk-treasury-social-security-access-federal-payment-system-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">access<\/a><\/span> to the Treasury Department&#8217;s payment systems \u2014 which handle everything from tax refunds to Social Security payments \u2014 alleging that the move breaches privacy regulations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That lawsuit pointed out that, at the time of its filing, Musk&#8217;s status with the federal government was unclear.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Trump administration has not publicly revealed whether Mr. Musk has been made an officer or employee of the U.S. government or remains a private citizen,&#8221; the lawsuit states. &#8220;The Trump administration also has not publicly revealed the employment status of other individuals who are part of DOGE.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In an emailed statement to CBS MoneyWatch, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said, &#8220;Elon Musk is a special government employee and has abided by all applicable federal laws.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what to know about the &#8220;special government employee&#8221; designation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-video embed--type-content_video is-video embed--float-none embed--size-medium \"><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/video\/elon-musk-doge-personnel-involved-in-security-incident-at-usaid-sources-say\/\" class=\"embed__headline-link\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>          <span class=\"embed__icon\"><br \/>\n            <svg viewbox=\"0 0 32 32\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><use xlink:href=\"#icon-video\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/p>\n<p>          <span class=\"embed__headline\">DOGE personnel involved in security incident at USAID, sources say<\/span><\/p>\n<p>          <span class=\"embed__video-duration\">05:18<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                      <\/a><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>What is a special government employee?<\/h2>\n<p>A special government employee, or SGE, is someone who&#8221;who works, or is expected to work, for the government for 130 days or less in a 365-day period,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/jmd\/ethics\/summary-government-ethics-rules-special-government-employees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">according<\/a> to the Department of Justice.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The role was created in 1962 as a way to enable the government to tap outside expertise, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.govexec.com\/oversight\/2015\/09\/clinton-email-fracas-raises-question-what-special-government-employee\/120362\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">according<\/a> to the publication Government Executive. A special government employee can be paid or unpaid, the Justice Department notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Which rules must SGEs adhere to?<\/h2>\n<p>SGEs &#8220;are subject to most rules, although sometimes in a less restrictive way,&#8221; including ethics and conflict of interest rules, the Justice Department states.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But SGEs also are prohibited from working on issues that impact their financial interests, as well as their spouses, children or organizations in which they work or serve as a director or trustee. Some of Musk&#8217;s businesses rely on the federal government&#8217;s contracts, including SpaceX, which was awarded 100 contracts in 2023 worth $3 billion, according to the New York Times.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Musk&#8217;s potential conflict of interests were highlighted by Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, in a Jan. 31 letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about the Tesla CEO&#8217;s access to the department&#8217;s payment system.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I am concerned Musk&#8217;s enormous business operations in China \u2014 a country whose intelligence agencies have stolen vast amounts of sensitive data about Americans, including U.S. government employee data by hacking U.S. government systems \u2014 endangers U.S. cybersecurity and creates conflicts of interest that make his access to these systems a national security risk,&#8221; Wyden wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-video embed--type-content_video is-video embed--float-none embed--size-medium \"><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/video\/what-to-know-about-trump-musk-and-usaid\/\" class=\"embed__headline-link\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>          <span class=\"embed__icon\"><br \/>\n            <svg viewbox=\"0 0 32 32\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><use xlink:href=\"#icon-video\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/p>\n<p>          <span class=\"embed__headline\">What to know about Trump, Musk and USAID<\/span><\/p>\n<p>          <span class=\"embed__video-duration\">04:06<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                      <\/a><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, an SGE can get a waiver &#8220;if your interest is not large,&#8221; the Justice Department notes. &#8220;If you do not qualify for a waiver, you will have to disqualify yourself from participating in any matter that affects your financial interests.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Musk&#8217;s $418 billion fortune is largely tied up in his stakes in SpaceX, worth $136 billion, and Tesla, valued at $158 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.<\/p>\n<h2>Does Musk need to make disclosures as an SGE?\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>Special government employees are only required to make a public financial disclosure report if they earn above the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opm.gov\/policy-data-oversight\/pay-leave\/salaries-wages\/salary-tables\/24Tables\/html\/GS.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">GS-15 government pay rate<\/a>, or about $123,000. If they make below that, they can file on a confidential basis.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s not clear whether Musk is being paid for his work or if he&#8217;s participating on a volunteer basis, although DOGE has <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/musk-department-of-government-efficiency-doge-jobs-applicants-hiring-x\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">recruited<\/a><\/span> full-time salaried employees.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- data-recirc-source=\"queryly\" --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"component list recirculation component--type-recirculation \"\/><!-- tags --><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-author\">\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/team\/aimee-picchi\/\" class=\"content-author__name\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">Aimee Picchi<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-author__bio\">\n<div class=\"content-author__full-information\">\n<p class=\"content-author__text\">Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/elon-musk-special-government-employee-what-does-that-mean\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Billionaire Elon Musk is categorized as a &#8220;special government employee&#8221; through his work with the Department of Government Efficiency, or<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[703],"class_list":["post-3955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-money-watch","tag-elon-musk"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The White House says Elon Musk is a &quot;special government employee.&quot; Here&#039;s what that means. - World News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that Tesla CEO Musk is categorized as a special government employee.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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