Government-private line is being blurred in the U.S.

The public status of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the butcher who’s been 'mutilating' the U.S. federal government and the hottest newsmaker in America right now, has only recently become widely known.

Musk, leading the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is pressuring to cut 10% of federal employees and has gained access to classified information from the Department of the Treasury and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), actions that have led to him being bombarded with criticism for exceeding his authority. Even though he is the closest aide to the president, what authority does he, once a private citizen, have to make such radical moves?

The White House officially announced Musk's appointment as a Special Government Employee (SGE) last Monday (local time). SGEs are part of a program that allows the government to temporarily hire outside experts for up to 130 days a year to bring expertise and agility to its operations. The appointment meets the minimum requirements for performing official duties within the White House.

SGEs, which past U.S. administrations have also used, are subject to laxer ethics rules and oversight compared to regular government employees, consistently raising transparency concerns. Former President Joe Biden appointed longtime Democratic lobbyist Anita Dunn as an SGE. Dunn later sparked a conflict-of-interest controversy when she was accused of exploiting a loophole that exempts SGEs from disclosing their assets. In 2016, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was also criticized for appointing close confidants as SGEs, granting them access to insider government information.

Musk faces similar criticism on a larger scale. However, he is not just a political lobbyist but the world’s most prosperous billionaire entrepreneur, running several global companies, including Tesla, X, and SpaceX. His international influence and political standing, backed by President Trump, is unprecedented. In addition, the official status of the young engineers at Musk's DOGE is unclear.

It is also ironic that the man who has been at the forefront of Trump’s campaign to 'demolish the deep state' (the vested interests within the federal bureaucracy) is now at the center of a massive conflict-of-interest controversy. “It’s probably the first time in history that an outsider has been given such unfettered power in the U.S. government,” says Michael Gerhardt, professor of Constitutional Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

The federal judiciary of the United States has recently put the brakes on DOGE's reforms. The Democratic Party is also ramping up its backlash, calling it a “coup by an unelected power.” Conservatives, on the other hand, are pleased with the 'hammer' Musk is wielding, Politico reported. The Washington Post characterized the SGE program itself as “blurring the lines between government and private.” If Musk's work gains clear support from either camp, this 'blurring of the lines' will likely become an inevitable trend of the era, not something that can be resisted.

The SGE system paved the way for behind-the-curtain confidants of powerful individuals to operate openly. Musk’s actions have reignited the debate over their authority in earnest. It will be interesting to see whether transparent oversight of unelected power can be implemented to protect the public interest or if it will ultimately empower a new kind of 'behind-the-scenes' power.