Elon Musk reportedly approached Donald Trump with the request to employ a non-citizen for the Department of Government Efficiency, a request that Trump firmly denied.
Prior to his inauguration as the 47th president, Donald Trump appointed Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, as the head of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The organization has stirred controversy due to its access to the US Treasury Department’s payment system, and Trump has intervened to block one of Musk’s employment plans.
Despite its temporary status and lack of congressional approval, DOGE remains part of the federal government, which typically restricts employment to US citizens.
According to USA Jobs, the official employment website of the US government: “In general, you must be a US citizen or national (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) to work for the federal government, but there are some exceptions.”
Exceptions include hiring non-US citizens ‘into the excepted service or Senior Executive Service, if the annual Appropriations Act, the Immigration Law, and the agency’s internal policies allow it’ or if ‘no qualified US citizen is available.’
Though DOGE reportedly has ‘full access’ to sensitive financial data such as ‘social security and Medicare benefits, grants, payments to government contractors… All of it,’ there are still boundaries Musk cannot cross.
When Musk attempted to hire a non-citizen, Baris Akis, for DOGE, Trump reportedly rejected the proposal, according to two sources speaking to The Atlantic.
Baris Akis is the co-founder and president of Human Capital, described as ‘a multi-stage venture capital firm’ focused on building and investing in companies within critical global industries, according to its website.
Despite Akis’ credentials and his reported relationship with Musk, Trump’s decision was final, as per the sources.
UNILAD has reached out to DOGE representatives for their input.
During a February 3rd Oval Office signing event, Trump stated: “Elon can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval. And we will give him the approval where appropriate, and where not appropriate we won’t.”
He added, “Where we think there is a conflict or there’s a problem, we won’t let him go near it.”
This development follows closely after Trump’s announcement of plans to assume control over the Gaza Strip.
At a February 4th White House press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump declared: “The only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is they have no alternative, it’s right now a demolition site.”
“This is just a demolition site. Virtually every building is down,” he added.
Detailing his vision for ‘peace and harmony,’ he proposed resettling all Palestinians currently residing in Gaza.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too.”
He continued, “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.”
While not ruling out military intervention, Trump stated: “We’re going to take over that piece, we’re going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it’ll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of.”
This announcement has been widely criticized by human rights advocates, with some equating it to ‘ethnic cleansing by another name.’