Billionaire Elon Musk has quickly become one of the most powerful people in the Trump Administration. Yet, he has no official government title and no authorization from Congress to do anything.
That has led to lawsuits from critics who say Musk is overstepping the boundaries for top government leaders set by the U.S. Constitution.
Musk is the main driver of the new Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, the group responsible for firing thousands of federal workers, dismantling entire agencies and canceling billions of dollars worth of federal contracts.
In a court filing, the Trump Administration calls musk a "non-career Special Government Employee," a classification allowed under federal law for those who work up to 130 days in a year, essentially part-time. The document also refers to Musk a senior adviser to the president.
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"Elon can't do and won't do anything without our approval," Trump told reporters gathered in the Oval Office on Feb. 3. "We'll give him the approval where appropriate, and where not appropriate, we won't."
A lawsuit challenging Musk says he "exercises an extraordinary amount of power. Indeed, the scope and reach of his executive authority appears unprecedented in U.S. history."
The appointments clause of the Constitution requires the U.S. Senate to approve "officers" of the government. Musk has not been nominated or confirmed for any position.
"He is in fact much more powerful than many people who have been appointed and confirmed by the Senate," said Daniel Farber, constitutional law professor at the University of California, Berkeley. "And if that kind of position doesn't require Senate confirmation, then it seems to me that whole process becomes kind of a joke."
Whether Musk can wield so much power without the Senate's blessing may ultimately become a question for the U.S. Supreme Court to answer.
