Elon Musk poised to occupy White House office space: report
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk will likely claim office space at the White House as he prepares to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), according to a new report.
Musk may occupy space in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building right next to the West Wing that houses the bulk of office space for White House staffers, the New York Times reports.
Musk and transition officials have talked about what Musk’s access to President-elect Trump will look like after the inauguration, but solidified plans are pending, according to the outlet, which noted that usually special passes are required for those to freely visit the West Wing.
Musk is heading up DOGE with tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy as they target ways to eliminate government spending, waste and streamline efficiency and operations. However, the paper reported that it’s uncertain whether Ramaswamy is also expected to occupy White House office space.
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DOGE is not part of the federal government but rather is a blue-ribbon committee that is expected to suggest executive orders for the Trump administration and work alongside the Office of Management and Budget to execute reforms.
DOGE’s objective is to cut $2 trillion from the federal government budget through efforts to slash spending, government programs and the federal workforce.
However, Musk recently cast doubt on the likelihood of eliminating $2 trillion from the federal budget and said there was a better chance at cutting $1 trillion.
"I think we’ll try for $2 trillion. I think that’s like the best-case outcome," Musk said during tech trade show CES last week in Las Vegas. "But I do think that you kind of have to have some overage. I think if we try for $2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting $1 [trillion]."
The Washington Post reported this month that aides for Musk and Ramaswamy had started interviewing staffers from government agencies for DOGE, including the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service, as well as the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security and Health and Human Services.
Approximately 50 people are part of DOGE’s team, which is seeking to expand to roughly 100 staffers by the inauguration. These staffers are working from SpaceX’s offices in Washington, D.C., according to the Washington Post.
Those close to Musk, who donated millions of dollars to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, said he is still determining whether he will take on the role of leading DOGE as a special government employee and, therefore, be required to file financial disclosure forms, the New York Times reports.
But certain restrictions could apply if Musk chooses to forgo special government employee status, such as requiring public meetings and sharing DOGE documents with the public, according to the outlet.
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Musk, along with other tech industry titans and venture capitalists, are slated to meet in Washington, D.C., this week for a dinner to discuss global innovation in artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship with incoming Trump administration officials.
Outside the Box Ventures, a firm founded last year by journalist-turned-investment banker Katherine Tarbox and French Ambassador to the U.S. Laurent Bili, is sponsoring the dinner.
"This gathering represents more than discussion. We hope it symbolizes a new chapter in public-private collaboration to harness technology’s transformative power for the nation’s future," a source close to the planning told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.