February 4, 2025
Elon Musk Won’t Be Paid For Service As A New ‘Special Government Employee’
Congress is concerned about security clearance
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that tech billionaire Elon Musk is officially a “special government employee” but won’t receive a paycheck, Business Insider reported.
During an interview, Leavitt boasted that Musk had “abided by all applicable federal laws.” While the President Trump ally won’t be getting a paycheck, what is not confirmed is his level of security clearance. “I can confirm he’s a special government employee. I can also confirm that he has abided by all applicable federal laws,” Leavitt said.
“As for his security clearance, I’m not sure, but I can check…I don’t know about the security clearance, but I can check.”
The security clearances is what members of Congress are concerned about, as the leader of the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has already caused problems on Capital Hill. In his few weeks in Washington, D.C., he labeled the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as a “criminal organization” that should die, pushing employees on leave, and limiting elected officials from being blocked in the lobby.
Historically, a “special government employee” is a fancy classification for temporary workers with specific expertise but who have no intention of being permanently employed. Under his new title, the world’s richest man is covered by a federal conflicts-of-interest statute prohibiting government employees from participating in cases affecting financial interests.
That law can be enforced two ways, according to CNN, criminally or in the civil context, however, the only way it can be enforced is through the Justice Department, which experts don’t think will happen under the new Trump-Vance administration. “We are relying on the Justice Department for enforcement of the financial conflict-of-interest standards against Elon Musk and everyone else, and there is a reason to doubt that the Trump Justice Department will enforce any statutes, including criminal statutes, against a Trump ally,” Washington University law professor specializing in government ethics, Kathleen Clark, said.
Two of Musk’s companies, Tesla and SpaceX, have benefited from government contracts over the years but recent moves made by the 47th President have already put a dent in some of his business dealings. When Trump announced a 25% tariff on Canada, a contract by Musk’s satellite internet service, Starlink, was canceled by the Canadian province of Ontario.
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