US President Donald Trump has recently clarified reports on the presence of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in the White House. Contrary to previous reports that indicated he would indeed be taking an office within the Oval Office, Trump confirmed that indeed, Musk is not having an office in the West Wing. The White House instead has allocated a separate office to Musk and his team.
On January 25, during a press briefing, when asked about Musk’s office in the West Wing, Trump quickly responded, “No, no, not – it’s not Elon’s office.” The President explained that the office was intended to ensure that executive orders are carried out efficiently and promptly, without delays. He went on to state, “We have an office that’s set up for purposes of – when I do an executive order, that the order is carried out, not that it sits around for three months. And we’ll have about 20 people, maybe more, working out of that office.”
Trump elaborated further, stating, “And there are about 20 or 25 people that will be working out of that office, and it’s a ‘go get ’em’ office to make sure it gets done. That’s what that is.”
Team of Elon Musk to Operate from Eisenhower Building
According to reports from The Times, Elon Musk’s senior leadership team will not be working directly from the West Wing but will be stationed in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, located on the White House grounds. This building is a short walk from the main complex.
Formation of DOGE
It was announced by Trump in November as the first step toward the formation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a part of his administration’s effort to streamline government functions and eliminate inefficiencies. According to Trump, DOGE’s mission is “to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.
While Trump and Musk have estimated that the program could save as much as $2 trillion, experts say that savings would be hard to realize without significant cuts to necessary social services and benefits. Last week, the White House officially renamed the United States Digital Service the United States DOGE Service (USDS), which will operate within the Executive Office of the President.