Who's in charge?

DOGE musk-rats and Musk are literally in charge of the US Digital Services Department, but who's in charge legally?

Ted Carstensen was the highest-ranking legacy USDS leader, but he resigned from the organization on February 6.

“After Ted resigned, we received no correspondence as far as who the head of this organization was,” says a current USDS employee, who requested anonymity due to concerns of retaliation.

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Some people WIRED spoke with at USDS view Amy Gleason, a former USDS official who served in the first Trump administration, as a liaison between legacy USDS, DOGE, and other agencies, but little is known about her official role. Steve Davis, a longtime Musk associate and the president of the Boring Company, is another name rumored to be formally leading DOGE. Davis has worked with Musk for years, and led the billionaire’s cost-cutting efforts when taking over Twitter, now X, in 2022.

  Wired

And what a success that was.

“Steve Davis has always been articulated as the leader of DOGE, but when I ask if he’s the administrator, [managers] say we don't know,” one former USDS employee tells WIRED. “When I ask if he’s the interim administrator, they say ‘we don't know.’ They've said Brad Smith [a health care entrepreneur with ties to Davis] is serving in a chief of staff role.”

[...]

Around 50 people out of USDS’s approximately 200 employees were fired on Friday. Sources tell WIRED that product managers, designers, and members of the talent team were hit the hardest, along with some engineers.

“No rhyme or reason. Literally in the middle of work,” another source said of the Friday night firings. “There are so many of us.”

[...]

While Musk’s DOGE workers have taken over at USDS for the last month, very few legacy employees have interacted with their new colleagues whatsoever. Earlier this month, WIRED reported that DOGE had built a “firewall” separating Musk’s team from the rest of the organization’s workforce. The only time legacy staff had a meeting with a representative from DOGE was on February 1 with Stephanie Holmes, who identified herself as the team’s new HR person.

The only other experiences legacy USDS staff have had with DOGE staff were their surprise one-on-one interviews with DOGE-affiliated engineers who refused to identify themselves during the first week of the Trump administration.

So, who's in charge of DOGE?  Same answer.

In a lawsuit, Democratic attorneys general from 14 states alleged among other things that Musk's nebulous role in the administration is illegal and violates the separation of powers assigned by the U.S. Constitution.

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[A] White House court filing in the lawsuit acknowledges that Musk is not an employee of DOGE or its leader.

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Musk is described as a White House employee. He holds the position, the declaration states, as a special government employee who serves as a "Senior Advisor to the President."

The filing goes on to say that Musk is not an employee of the separate U.S. DOGE Service (USDS) or the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization tasked with improving government technology and cutting spending or staffing.

The White House filing also says Musk is not the USDS administrator in charge of the DOGE effort, and did not mention who holds that position.

[...]

The filing's characterization of Musk's role contradicts the public representations made by Musk, DOGE and Trump about the billionaire's position in the federal government, and continues to raise questions about the operations of an effort that Musk claimed to be "maximally transparent."

  NPR

And he said "we" when making that claim.

When Trump first announced DOGE, it was pitched as an outside review of the government co-led by Musk and former GOP presidential candidate and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

On Trump's first day in office, one of his many executive actions was to make DOGE a government entity, renaming the United States Digital Service and moving that organization under the umbrella of the Executive Office of the President.

Just last week, Musk was in the Oval Office standing next to Trump answering questions about DOGE, referring to "our actions" taken to direct agencies to cancel contracts and make other changes.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Trump said: "Elon is, to me, a patriot. So you know, you could call him an employee, you could call him a consultant. You could call him whatever you want, but he's a patriot."

Whoever's in charge, they aren't smart enough - or experienced enough - to know how to write out million numerically.

Karoline Leavitt was then asked on Fox about this new filing. Host: This affidavit says Musk doesn't work for DOGE at all. So what is his role at DOGE? Leavitt: “Elon Musk is a special government employee. Elon Musk has been tasked with overseeing DOGE.”

What this lie is really all about is an attempt to shield Musk from all accountability and responsibility for everything he is doing. He is given titles that allow him to avoid Senate confirmation and some ethics and financial reporting requirements. When his DOGE operation is sued, they claim he technically isn’t part of DOGE. Musk claims that he is a model of transparency, while he hides everything he does and refuses to take responsibility for any of it.

So Trump, Musk, and Fox want the American people - and judges presiding over lawsuits - to believe that Musk really had nothing to do with the decisions that are being made by DOGE.

  Meidas Touch