Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to President Trump requesting substantive documentation regarding Elon Musk’s formal role within the Trump Administration following the President’s direct contradiction of a sworn statement by a White House official that Mr. Musk is not a part of the U.S. DOGE Service.
“I write to express my concern regarding your direct contradiction of a sworn statement by a White House official, provided under penalty of perjury, regarding Elon Musk’s role within your Administration. As the American people can plainly see, Mr. Musk wields immense authority over the U.S. DOGE Service and the federal government generally, with the purported power to feed Congressionally authorized and funded federal agencies ‘through the wood chipper[,]’ yet parts of the White House appear intent on obscuring the facts of his role. To ensure transparency on the authority you have granted Mr. Musk and the legal authority he has to direct DOGE, I request that you provide substantive documentation regarding his formal role.”
On February 17, 2025, in a sworn statement filed with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Joshua Fisher, the director of the White House Office of Administration with “personal knowledge of Mr. Elon Musk’s employment status with the federal government[,]” stated under penalty of perjury that Elon Musk “is not an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service or the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization[,]” that “Mr. Musk is not the U.S. DOGE Service Administrator[,]” and that “Mr. Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself.”
In his letter, Ranking Member Connolly highlights instances in which President Trump and Mr. Musk himself have portrayed Mr. Musk as the head of DOGE.
On November 12, 2024, President Trump announced that Mr. Musk would lead the DOGE effort alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, who has since departed the initiative.
On February 12, 2025, at an Oval Office press conference, President Trump referred to DOGE as Mr. Musk’s “team” in response to a question. Throughout the press conference, Mr. Musk repeatedly referred to DOGE’s efforts as his efforts, stating “that we post our actions to the DOGE handle on X and the DOGE website.”
On February 19, 2025, at another press conference, in direct contradiction to Mr. Fisher’s sworn testimony, President Trump stated, “I signed an order creating the Department of Government Efficiency and put a man named Elon Musk in charge.”
“This contradiction raises significant concerns that either you are lying about Mr. Musk’s role or Mr. Fisher perjured himself—a criminal offense that can lead to up to 5 years in prison,” concluded Ranking Member Connolly.
To understand Mr. Musk’s role and the authorities under which he is exercising widespread access to government data, Ranking Member Connolly asked for compliance with his requests for documents and information no later than March 6, 2025.
Click here to read the letter to President Trump.
