Elon Musk‘s special status in Donald Trump‘s inner circle was revealed at the president’s latest cabinet meeting.
The billionaire sat at the foot of the table with a name card missing a key detail shared by the rest of the president’s Senate-confirmed cabinet members – an actual title.
It comes as liberals have been sent into a tailspin over the so-called ‘First Buddy’s’ growing influence in the White House, which Senator Bernie Sanders and and House Member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have been calling an ‘unelected oligarchy’.
Surrounded by department heads like Marco Rubio, Robert F Kennedy, and Pete Hegseth, Musk stood out for more than his red hat.
Each of the other men around the table had a place setting with their name and title – national security adviser, secretary of state, defense secretary.
Expect for one: The Tesla boss had only his name, ‘Elon Musk’.
The missing title was a visual representation of the controversial role the world’s richest man plays as one of Trump’s closest advisors.
Having spent the past two months taking a chainsaw to the public service, his critics call him the unelected ‘First Buddy’ illegally wielding massive power over Americans.
Elon Musk’s table place setting at a cabinet meeting on Monday had only his name – unlike others around him who also had their titles
Surrounded by department heads like Marco Rubio, Robert F Kennedy, and Pete Hegseth, he stood out for more than his red hat
Musk is officially a ‘special government employee’ with the title of ‘senior adviser to the president’, according to official documents.
The Department of Government Efficiency is not an official department that would be led by a cabinet secretary, and thus doesn’t need Senate approval.
Court filings last month also made clear that Musk is ‘not the US DOGE Service Administrator’ in any official capacity.
‘In his role as senior advisor to the president, Mr Musk has no greater authority than other senior White House advisors,’ the court filing noted.
The document added that he had ‘no actual or formal authority’ to make government decisions by himself.
He is a White House employee and not an employee or service administrator of DOGE, which is a temporary organization within the executive office of the president.
Each of the other men around the table had a place setting with their name and title – national security adviser, secretary of state, defense secretary
Trump, Musk, and others in the administration regularly play up or downplay Musk’s role and powers in the government, depending on the situation.
The president made it clear on several occasions that Musk was running the show at DOGE, regardless of what was on paper.
‘Elon Musk is a special government employee and has abided by all applicable federal laws,’ White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said.
‘For concerns regarding conflicts of interest between Elon Musk and DOGE, President Trump has stated he will not allow conflicts, and Elon himself has committed to recusing himself from potential conflicts.
‘DOGE has been incredibly transparent about what they’re doing, posting daily updates on X and updating their website.
‘It’s standard practice for Administrations to hire individuals as Special Government Employees to focus on specific issues, based on their outside experience, for a limited period of time.’
‘All SGEs are filling out the appropriate paperwork, receiving briefings on ethics rules, including the conflict of interest rules, and abiding by all applicable federal laws.’
