Elon Musk Establishes New Power Base in Washington by Overhauling Federal Agencies :

Elon Musk's swift acquisition of two U.S. government departments gave his South African origin the power to supervise all federal government employees totaling 2.2 million people and launch significant structural changes to American public institutions.

During two weeks of taking control of two U.S. government agencies the 53-year-old billionaire Musk under President Donald Trump's cost-cutting program has established himself as a leading Washington powerbroker.

Since Trump became president on January 20 Musk established his agency through deploying several employee teams from Tesla and SpaceX.

The panic among government personnel together with public demonstrations in Washington has created major disruptive effects which sometimes clashed with President Trump's priorities.

The contradictory trade dispute between Trump and Mexico and Canada during the week stole equal press coverage from Musk's attempt to terminate USAID which manages America's international humanitarian aid programs.

The United States observes "an unusual accumulation of executive authority through an unconfirmed individual who does not possess high-level clearance" according to Don Moynihan from the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.

According to Moynihan "Musk controls essential government infrastructure with no limits regarding his influence" over the foundational systems.

Elon Musk receives executive direction from Donald Trump as part of their relationship. During a news conference on Monday the president clarified that the billionaire needs his backing before undertaking any procedure.

The administration grants Elon Musk permission when it agrees with his initiatives yet denies permission for tasks we see as inappropriate. But he reports in."

Officials at the White House stated that leadership involved with Elon Musk follows both federal legal requirements and relevant agency clearance procedures while being employed under government agency status.

The employee expressed concern about Elon Musk rather than being fired from their position at the General Services Administration which handles federal property and services management. The public discussions mainly focus on Musk rather than Trump.

The Department of Government Efficiency operates under the direction of Trump who named Musk to lead this department through what he and Musk both refer to it as DOGE. Although named as a government entity DOGE does not function like an official department nor does the Douglas Government Efficiency director receive any salaries from public funds. The formation of DOGE immediately generated lawsuits filed by government unions public watchdogs and interest groups.

The list of individuals within DOGE remains unclear to the public. The Trump administration has distinguished itself by not disclosing the employees who work at DOGE. The Trump administration has neither specified payment details nor provided information about the employee numbers that have joined each agency.

Musk as well as his DOGE leadership seized control of both the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration by acquiring their complete computer infrastructure.

The U.S. government's human resources division under OPM regulates the workforce operations of its total 2.2 million workers. The past week saw the distribution of emails presenting financial benefits which aim to prompt federal workers into severing employment with the government. The General Services Administration holds authority over most federal contracts and regulates government real estate possessions.

Four active/senior OPM personnel who were also former aides of Musk have seized control over the agency with restricted access to government systems according to reports from Reuters sources. Musk conducted his first GSA visit on last Thursday according to agency sources and team members from his company established office positions at the agency.

The Musk team entered the U.S. Treasury Department's payment system on Friday allowing them to access financial information of 6 trillion dollars annually which serves millions of American citizens collecting Social Security benefits and tax deductions and federal government distributed payments.

The Payment System access provided to Musk's staff members by Michael Linden forms an extraordinary source of potential power within the U.S. federal budget structure.

Due to their payment system access these individuals have the authority to determine what federal payments the government will disburse according to Linden in his interview.

An immediate comment from Musk or the White House was not received regarding this matter.

Trump expressed multiple times that he believes the federal bureaucracy contains numerous sloppy workers and too many redundant employees who must be reduced in number. The president suggests that numerous federal workers have liberal viewpoints which aim to prevent his plans from succeeding.

MUSK EXCEEDING HIS AUTHORITY

According to Thomas Moline who used to work at SpaceX as a senior avionics engineer others who worked at Elon's companies can detect his pattern in current federal government operations. The entire operation relies on quick decision-making with his loyal supporters rushing to fulfill anything that captures his attention through last-minute implementation.

Experts in governance believe Musk’s current actions surpass the boundaries of authorization provided through Trump’s executive order when establishing DOGE on January 20.

The executive order required DOGE to revolutionize governmental technology and software for maximum efficiency enhancement. The orders related to hiring recruitment and freezes specify that DOGE must collaborate with other agencies for decision-making recommendations.

Musk along with his staff has exceeded their designated role of making suggestions.

Staff members from DOGE fought security officials at USAID Washington headquarters for access to classified information while participating deeply in agency downsizing programs.

Multiple employees in civil service positions maintain an atmosphere of deep anxiety which leads them to reveal agency news through Reddit and Signal while using Facebook to exchange responses. DOGE staff marks communication messages with watermarks and hidden text signatures that serve as means for tracking down potential leaks.

Several democratic lawmakers together with Musk critics charge him with forceful seizure of governmental positions. The federal worker unions brought litigation to prevent Musk from obtaining access to government computer systems.

During the protest at USAID headquarters U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin celebrated his Democratic allyship by dismissing Elon Musk's influence as a fourth branch of government.

'FORK IN THE ROAD'

Administrative staff received an official communication named "Fork in the Road" because Elon Musk used this expression during his restructuring of Twitter following acquisition last year.

The second communication directed public employees to explore better positions in business organizations. The employee unions of the federal government advised their workforce to reject payouts since no clear funding source exists for the payments.

The worker unions filed legal action Tuesday to stop the administration from carrying out its plan to give severance payments to employees despite reports that 20,000 workers planned resignation.

The position of major influence and oversight over federal financial flows and staff members concerns Professor Nick Bednar of University of Minnesota Law School because Musk and his assistants seem to have minimal oversight authority.

According to Bednar the situation where Musk found himself in was remarkable since his businesses maintain multiple U.S. government contracts creating numerous conflict-of-interest questions.