Elon Musk dodges DOGE scrutiny while expanding his power in Washington Elon Musk made a clear promise after Donald Trump decided to put him in charge of making the government more efficient.
The president said Friday that Musk is "finding tremendous fraud and corruption and waste.” Trump was particularly enthusiastic about efforts to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, where Musk has worked to choke off funding.
Sheria Smith, president of a federal employees union that represents some of the agency’s staff, said it is unclear what internal systems have been accessed by Musk's team and for what reason.
Donald K. Sherman, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said Trump has allowed Musk to “exert unprecedented power and authority over government systems” with “maximal secrecy and little-to-no accountability.”.
In the three weeks since the Republican president has been back in the White House, Musk has rapidly burrowed deep into federal agencies while avoiding public scrutiny of his work.
