Quote:Elon Musk is not the administrator of DOGE nor is he an employee of the department that's overseeing massive cuts to the federal workforce and agencies, per a Monday night White House court filing.

Why it matters: President Trump described Musk as a leader of the operation when he announced the department in November, and the billionaire has become the face of the drive.
Driving the news: "Like other senior White House advisors, Mr Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself," per the filing, signed by Joshua Fisher, director of the Office of Administration at the White House, and filed in D.C. federal court.

Musk is a "Special Government Employee" (SGE) and in that job he's a senior adviser to the president, said Fisher, per the declaration in the case, which the state of New Mexico brought against the SpaceX owner and others.
The Tesla CEO "has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself," Fisher said.
He said Anita Dunn was an "influential" senior adviser to former President Biden "while serving as an SGE."
Zoom out: Musk appeared alongside Trump at the White House to speak about government cuts as recently as last week.