Is ‘co-president’ Musk forcing a showdown with Trump insiders?

Elon Musk could be wearing out his welcome with some Donald Trump insiders.
The tech billionaire has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won a second term and has “been so aggressive in pushing his views about Trump’s second term that he’s stepping on the toes of Trump’s transition team and may be overstaying his welcome,” per a new report from NBC News.
The report cites two people familiar with the transition who have spent time at Trump’s home and resort over the past two weeks.
“He’s behaving as if he’s a co-president and making sure everyone knows it,” one of the people said of Musk, per the report. “And he’s sure taking lots of credit for the president’s victory. Bragging about America PAC and X to anyone who will listen. He’s trying to make President Trump feel indebted to him. And the president is indebted to no one.”
A transition spokesperson told NBC News in a statement that “Elon Musk and President Trump are great friends and brilliant leaders working together to Make America Great Again.”
Trump mentioned Musk when he met with congressional Republicans in Washington Wednesday, per Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman.
“Trump just talked about Elon Musk in the closed House Republican Conference meeting. He thanked Musk for everything he did in the election and said now he can’t get rid of him. (Meaning he’s always around).” Sherman posted to X.
Trump on Tuesday said Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” — which is not, despite the name, a government agency.
The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added that the move would shock government systems.
It’s not clear how the organization will operate. It could come under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which dictates how external groups that advise the government must operate and be accountable to the public.
Federal employees are generally required to disclose their assets and entanglements to ward off any potential conflicts of interest, and to divest significant holdings relating to their work. Because Musk and Ramaswamy would not be formal federal workers, they would not face those requirements or ethical limitations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Matt Arco may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.