Musk is not a DOGE employee and "has no actual or formal authority," WH says

Driving the news: "Like other senior White House advisors, Mr Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself," per the filing, signed by Joshua Fisher, director of the Office of Administration at the White House, and filed in D.C. federal court.

• Musk is a "Special Government Employee" (SGE) and in that job he's a senior adviser to the president, said Fisher, per the declaration in the case, which the state of New Mexico brought against the SpaceX owner and others.
• The Tesla CEO "has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself," Fisher said.
• He said Anita Dunn was an "influential" senior adviser to former President Biden "while serving as an SGE."

Zoom out: Musk appeared alongside Trump at the White House to speak about government cuts as recently as last week.

• Trump said during a Fox News Super Bowl special interview he'd had "great help" in the DOGE drive "with Elon Musk" and he was going to tell him "to go check to the Department of Education" soon.
• Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening on whether Musk is still considered a leader of DOGE.

Go deeper: Musk's double-edged sword on government shutdowns