Elon Musk is testing the limits of legal and ethical restrictions on the role of special advisers in U.S. presidential administrations, according to some legal experts and lawmakers who oppose the billionaire's mission against what he deems wasteful government spending.

Elon Musk will work under President Donald Trump as a “special government employee,” designating Musk as an unpaid employee of the federal government with fewer restrictions than full-time employees, according to the White House, as Musk’s so-called Department Of Government Efficiency has involved itself in multiple federal agencies in recent days.

Elon Musk is rapidly consolidating control over large swaths of the federal government with President Donald Trump 's blessing, sidelining career officials, gaining access to sensitive databases and dismantling a leading source of humanitarian assistance.

President Trump said the entity would focus on cutting government waste and slashing federal regulations, and he put tech billionaire and adviser Elon Musk in charge.

An aide to Elon Musk has administrative privileges in the Treasury Department’s payment system, according to two separate news reports — something the White House has denied. Musk is in charge of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency,

Democratic and Republican senators publicly sparred Wednesday over billionaire Elon Musk and his allies at the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) reported access to a sensitive federal payment system at the Treasury Department.