Elon Musk secures office in White House complex near Trump - NYT

According to sources from the agency, Musk is expected to use offices in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which adjoins the White House.

The New York Times noted that this will allow Musk, who owns companies with billions of dollars in government contracts, to maintain significant access to President-elect Donald Trump once he takes office this month.

Musk discussed with transition officials what level of access he would have to the West Wing, but this remains unclear. Staff and others who are free to come and go in the West Wing typically require a special pass.

Proximity to Trump

Musk donated hundreds of millions to help Trump win the 2024 election and has since been regularly close to him, often using one of the rental cottages on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. He has been present at official meetings and at least one foreign call — to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — and has voiced his opinions on personnel and cabinet decisions.

It remains unclear whether Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk’s partner in leading the project, will receive office space in the Eisenhower building.

Musk’s project and ethical standards

The Musk-Ramaswamy project is called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, but it is not a "department" in the sense of the Department of Justice—an official, Congress-authorized part of the government. Musk’s status and the project have raised many questions about the rules for such entities.

Currently, DOGE employees are working out of Musk’s SpaceX office in Washington.

Work on DOGE has been shrouded in secrecy, with Trump’s transition team revealing virtually nothing about how it will operate or be funded.

It is also unclear how large Musk’s team will be and what his status will be. Some transition officials have suggested he may become a “special government employee,” a status that can be either paid or unpaid and comes with more flexible rules for disclosing personal financial information than those required of regular employees.

If he does take this step, Musk, the world’s richest man, will almost certainly forgo a salary. However, there may be legal implications regarding how Trump’s administration defines Musk’s role and how DOGE fits into the executive branch’s bureaucracy.

One issue concerns ethical rules, including financial disclosure requirements and prohibitions on certain conflicts of interest, such as restrictions on former special government employees lobbying on certain private interests after working on relevant issues during temporary service.

Specifically, all government employees, including special temporary ones, are subject to conflict-of-interest laws that bar them from participating in official matters in which they or their families or organizations have a financial interest. Since some of Musk’s companies have contracts with the federal government, this law would likely prohibit DOGE from working on related issues if he gains such status.

If Musk or his staff were to become special government employees, they would need to file financial disclosure forms. However, if they choose to forgo significant government salaries, the Trump administration could keep these records private from the public.

Read more about the US system of government after January 20 in RBC-Ukraine’s article, “Trump and his team. Who will be key figures in new US president's administration.”