. The “biggest influencer” of the pre-election period in the US, and “the face” of his pre-election campaign, according to the New York Times. His placement in a special, almost personal position in the Trump 2.0 administration, which raises issues of incompatibility and conflict of interest, is expected – and it was also announced.
Musk, who has contracts worth more than $10 billion. with the federal government through his company Space X, he will lead a new government sector that will focus on the efficiency of the federal government. It was called the “Ministry” of Government Efficiency, without actually being a ministry in order not to be subject to strict conflict of interest rules.
“It will shock the systems”
Musk will lead the new “ministry” along with biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to offer the White House “advice and guidance” to “cut red tape, cut wasteful spending and restructure federal agencies ». They will work with the Office of Management and Budget to “lead large-scale structural reforms and create an unprecedented business approach to government.” The move “will shock the government systems.” The deadline for Musk and Ramaswamy’s work is July 4, 2026.
In the run-up to the election, Musk had talked about cutting two of the three trillion dollars in fixed spending for the federal government, while Ramaswamy had previously said he would eliminate the Department of Education, the FBI and other agencies to save a million jobs.
Cuts, according to Kirsten Grind, a New York Times journalist, are Musk’s “obsession” as shown by the “knife” he put into X’s expenses. The area of responsibility he will assume “shows the size of the power he will have in the Trump administration, but at the same time the degree of confidence the re-elected president has in him.”
Criticisms and interpretations
heavily criticized by the American media. The “unique in US history” inconsistency of having a person financially connected to the federal government through his businesses, which federal law prohibits, will be easily circumvented, according to NYT reporter Eric Lipton, “because the Musk will not take an official government position.” However, the country’s governance will be controlled by the “wishes of billionaires” who aspire to play a role in the fields of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence.
The tycoon sought a role in the Trump administration, Lipton continues, not only to increase his income (Tesla shares jumped 30% after the election), but also in anticipation of closing pending lawsuits against him (for discrimination in staffing) and investigations (such as the US Federal Auto Safety Regulatory Authority’s on Tesla). “And they will be closed”, predicts the NYT journalist.
Analysts try to interpret Musk’s new role and express their concerns. “The bigger question is whether Musk’s businesses will have new connections and entanglements with the government, even if his role remains purely advisory to the new administration,” Amy Dacey, a Democratic politician and director of the Sine Institute, told Vima. in Politics at American University, Washington.
“It’s extremely unclear what Musk is actually going to do. Trump himself probably hasn’t decided that either. For now he has created an agency without legal authority – essentially an advisory body – to recommend ways to cut the federal budget. Whether anything meaningful will come of this will depend on many things. But right now there is no indication that Musk will have a real role in governance,” Mark Norris Lance, a professor at Georgetown University in Washington, tells Vima.
“The role that Musk is taking is limited and does not need Senate approval. I believe he will not have the power to act, but he will propose with a ‘smaller state’ in mind,” says Rob Ritchie, president of FairVote, an organization that promotes reforms for fairer elections.
Conflict of two Egos
Wendy J remains cautious. Schiller, Professor of International Relations at Brown University in the US. “Let’s wait and see . No Trump associate has gotten along with him in the last eight years, and I don’t expect that pattern to change. I estimate that their cooperation will not be successful”, he asserts in Vima.
The NYT’s Lipton shares the same opinion: “No one guarantees that their relationship will last.”
“Mask’s involvement in US governance is not simple. It heralds the change of the regime,” argues Nadia Urbinati, professor of Political Theory at Columbia University in New York, speaking to Vima. “It also reflects the perception of the state that the country’s Oligarchy has and the weariness of financial monopolies and global capitalism with existing constitutional restrictions. They want unlimited sovereignty. And they achieve it with the support of the people because they have the “divine power” to influence their judgment and choices. As Musk himself said to the American voters, “you are the means”.
