Musk has been named as a special government employee, which subjects him to less stringent rules on ethics and financial disclosures than other workers.
Trump has given Musk office space in the White House complex where he oversees a team of people at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump made no secret of his desire to put Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur behind the electric automaker Tesla and the rocket company SpaceX, in charge of retooling the federal government.
“Elon can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday.
Democrats, for their part, accused Musk of leading a coup from within the government by amassing unaccountable and illegal power.
Musk has also turned his attention to the General Services Administration, or GSA, which manages federal government buildings.
Now Musk is popping open the hood on the federal government like it’s one of his cars or rockets. »
