Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has been appointed to a special role in Trump’s Administration. Following executive order 14158 signed on Jan. 20, 2025, Musk has been appointed as a Special Government Employee to work with and be the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, a Special Government Employee is an officer or employee in the Executive branch of the federal government who is appointed to perform limited services to the government with or without compensation. Special Government Employees can not work as such for more than 130 days during any period of 365 consecutive days.
Ethics’ rules apply differently to Special Government Employees than other federal employees: Special Government Employees are required to go through ethics training upon their initial appointment and once a year after as long as they are in office. This training is done through the Departmental Ethics Office.
Special Government Employees must also follow the Ethics in Government Act (amended by the Ethics Reform Act of 1989), which requires that they file financial disclosure reports (once upon appointment and annually thereafter). These financial reports are then analyzed to “identify potential or actual conflicts of interest,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
While Musk’s exact actions in the DOGE are not known, the department overall has made several changes. According to the DOGE website, they have saved an estimated 105 billion dollars by terminating contracts, grants and leases.
The DOGE has also created data sets that can be viewed on their website. Examples of these data sets are government agencies ranked by spending and agencies ranked by “efficiency.” The rankings on efficiency are made according to which agencies have saved the most money in Trump’s administration thus far.
Protests regarding Musk’s and Trump’s policies have been set up across the country, and one protest in Kane County consisted of over 200 people. The protest, which was on Randall Road, happened on March 1, 2025. According to Shaw Local, protesters held signs with messages such as “Trump=Putin,” and “Pray for the soul of the nation.” Main concerns included the freedom of the press, women’s rights, government layoffs and Trump’s interactions with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In short, Musk’s exact role is the head of the DOGE, but his exact actions as the head have not been officially posted on the DOGE’s website. Musk will continue to work with DOGE to “modernize federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
