President Donald Trump’s shoutout to Elon Musk during his joint address to Congress may end up helping the lawyers challenging the Department of Government Efficiency.
During his speech Tuesday night, the president touted DOGE, which has been the subject of more than 20 lawsuits. “I have created the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE — perhaps you’ve heard of it,” said Trump, adding: “Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight.” The billionaire then stood up as Republican lawmakers gave him a standing ovation.
Kelly B. McClanahan, a lawyer representing a group of nonprofits and unions challenging DOGE’s legality, seized on that remark within hours and entered a new court filing, pointing to Trump’s remark as “new evidence” that — despite what the government has argued in court — Musk is, in fact, the head of the task force.
Questions have swirled over the unelected tech leader’s role within the Trump administration.
Questions have swirled over the unelected tech leader’s role within the Trump administration. The White House has tried to downplay Musk’s DOGE authority after several lawsuits against the federal government argued that his involvement violates the Constitution’s appointments clause, which requires Senate confirmation for many executive appointments. The White House has characterized Musk as a special government employee and insisted he’s not the administrator of DOGE.
Last month in a separate lawsuit against DOGE, the Trump-appointed director of the Office of Administration, Joshua Fisher, said Musk was a senior adviser to Trump and “has no greater authority than other senior White House advisers.”
“Mr. Musk is an employee in the White House Office,” Fisher wrote in a court filing. “He is not an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service or U.S. DOGE Service or U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization. Mr. Musk is not the U.S. DOGE Service Administrator.” However, Musk’s connection to DOGE is well documented. Trump tapped him to co-lead it just a week after the election, and Musk frequently posts about DOGE’s actions on X, his social media platform. While administration officials have said Musk isn’t in charge, they repeatedly declined to publicly identify DOGE’s leader. That was until last week, when White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Amy Gleason, a former health care investment executive and U.S. Digital Service senior adviser, is acting administrator. It’s unclear when Gleason was appointed to that position.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
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