Trump targets teleworking. Here is what it means

Annabelle Timsit, Matt Visor
| Washington Post

The white house press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed that Elon Musk – the technological billionaire that President Donald Trump has exploited to direct a large -scale effort to reduce public spending and regulations – is an “employee special government ”.

Musk’s work in the White House – without having sidelined his commercial roles – has been the subject of a meticulous examination of the Democrats. Leavitt said that he had “respected all applicable federal laws”.

Here’s what you need to know.

The facts

– An employee of the special government is “anyone who works or should work, for the government for 130 days or less in a period of 365 days”, with or without compensation, according to the Ministry of Justice. It is not clear how long Musk’s mission as head of the government’s ministry should last.

– Classification means that musk is not a volunteer but is considered less than a full -time employee. This also means that it is exempt from some of the rules – including around financial disclosure and conflicts of interest – which apply to full -time government employees.

– Democratic legislators and some Republicans have expressed their concern about Musk’s expansive mandate since he was never elected.

– “Elon Musk is a business manager once in generation,” Leavitt told journalists on Monday. “He is an entrepreneur. He serves a great ally and a friend and a president. »»

What rules should special government employees follow?

Government special employees, or sges, “are subject to most rules, although sometimes less restrictive,” said the Ministry of Justice in a summary.

For example, SGEs which are paid or lower than the level of federal employees with a higher executive service status are not required to file a public financial disclosure report; Instead, they can submit a confidential report if they should “play a substantial role in the formulation of agency policy”, according to the US Office of Government Ethics.

This is particularly relevant in the case of musk, because criticisms argued that his property of Tesla and SpaceX represents a conflict of interest in his examination of public spending and regulations, in particular in his relations with the government agencies which have decided in the past if they had to provide contracts to its companies or established rules that influence the actions and profits of its companies.

Richard Painter, who was chief lawyer for the ethics of the White House under President George W. Bush, said that the CNN on Monday, before Leavitt confirms the status of Musk’s SGE, that Musk “short Like a federal employee, but he does not want to comply with a criminal conflict of interest status.

“He plays with fire, and the White House must clearly indicate that he is a federal employee, or he is not, then having him fulfilled the appropriate functions,” said Painter.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comments from the Washington Post Tuesday about the work of the private sector of Musk and its potential impact on its role with the government.

Musc actions as an employee of the special government

The disclosure of the White House comes after weeks of speculation on the status of musk, while the technological billionaire has evolved with unprecedented speed and wide access to close government agencies and eliminate federal employees.

Musk announced that he was closing the American agency for international development; Make redemption offers to federal employees in the context of an effort to completely reorganize the government’s workforce; And recently had access to a sensitive cash department system responsible for billions of dollars in American government payments.

Trump reiterated his support for Musk’s actions on Monday, but said he could only act with the support of his administration.

“Elon cannot do and will do nothing without our approval, and we will give it the approval, if necessary; When it is not appropriate, we will not. But he reports, “Trump told journalists.

“If there is a conflict, then we will not let it approach it. But it has a good natural instinct. He has a very talented team of people. We try to reduce the government, and it can probably reduce it as well as anyone else, if not better, “added Trump.

The employee of the special government is not a new designation

Sges has already been controversial, some criticisms arguing that they can blur the lines between the private and public sector and help by bypassing the rules which are intended to protect government’s work against external influence. As part of the Biden administration, Anita Dunn, adviser and co -founder of the powerful public relations and political strategy SKDK, was caused as SGE and was under the examination of certain ethics experts, who declared that his status had allowed him to avoid the rules intended to promote transparency.

And in 2013, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), now the pro tempore president of the American Senate, questioned the use by Hillary Clinton of the program, affirming that this allowed him to bring political allies on board during that they were pursuing careers in the private sector. Grassley asked the Government Accountability Office to carry out an exam and, in a 2016 report, the GAO said that several government agencies were struggling to follow in a reliable manner and had “low internal coordination and misunderstandings concerning the designation of SGE ”.

At the time, Grassley said: “It is worrying because if the government does not follow properly who has the designation, he may not seek if someone has a conflict of interest with government service and employment private sector.”