At the Oval Office news conference, with Trump beside him, Musk defended his role as an unelected official who has been granted unprecedented authority by the Republican president to dismantle parts of the US government. He told reporters he speaks to Trump nearly every day, saying his work is in the interest of the public and democracy.
“The people voted for major government reform, and that’s what people are going to get,” said Musk. “All of our actions are maximally transparent”.
DOGE, however, has operated in deep secrecy. It has provided almost no information on whom it employs, where it is operating or what actions it is taking inside government agencies. It posts little information about its work, providing only dollar figures for purported cuts in specific agencies and little concrete detail. It has stunned federal employees, sending its members into at least 15 agencies and gaining access to sensitive data. As a “special government employee,” Musk’s financial disclosure filings will not be made public, the White House has said.
One of the four sources said that Wiles was not upset with Musk’s efforts to dismantle government agencies and downsize the federal workforce, but rather with his approach. Wiles, one of the two managers of Trump’s 2024 election campaign, wants Musk and DOGE to keep her team informed and work in a more orderly fashion, said the source, who has direct knowledge of the matter.
“There is some frustration, but it’s overblown to say it’s a rift,” the source said.
The fourth source, an associate of high-ranking White House officials, described the friction as more serious and said Wiles’ subordinates had expressed discomfort over information that Musk released on his social media platform X before it had been vetted by senior White House staff. “They’re definitely finding things out on Twitter”.
