Elon Musk reportedly asked Donald Trump for a non-US citizen to work for the Department of Government Efficiency and sources say the president gave it a firm no.
Before he was even sworn in as the 47th president, Donald Trump appointed Tesla CEO Elon Musk as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The organization has already sparked controversy for being allowed access to the US Treasury Department's payment system, and now Trump has reportedly stepped in and prevented one of Musk's potential hires.
What powers does DOGE actually have?
Despite being a temporary organization formed without congressional approval, DOGE is still part of the federal government which generally prohibits non-US citizens from working within it.
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USA Jobs - an official website of the US government - states: "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."
The exceptions include hiring a non-US citizen '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'.
So, while DOGE may've reportedly been granted 'full access' to sensitive financial data including 'social security and Medicare benefits, grants, payments to government contractors... All of it,' it would seem there's a limit to what Musk can do.
And when it came to wanting to employ a non-US citizen as part of DOGE named Baris Akis, two sources told The Atlantic Trump said it was a firm no.
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Akis is the co-founder & president of Human Capital - 'a multi-stage venture capital firm' which 'build[s] and invest[s] in companies that define the world's most critical industries,' its website states.
Alas, despite Akis' qualifications and alleged closeness with Musk, Trump was having none of it, the sources said.
UNILAD has contacted representatives for DOGE for comment.
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During a signing event at the Oval Office on February 3, Trump said: "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.
"Where we think there is a conflict or there’s a problem, we won’t let him go near it."
The news comes days after Trump vowed to take ownership of the Gaza Strip.
What has Trump said about the Gaza strip?
Speaking during a press conference at the White House on Tuesday (February 4), where he was joined by the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, he said: "The only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is they have no alternative, it’s right now a demolition site.
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"This is just a demolition site. Virtually every building is down."
Setting out his plans for 'peace and harmony', he explained how he would resettle all the Palestinians living there.
"The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too.
"We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site," he added.
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Refusing to rule out military action, he continued: "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."
The move has been met with widespread criticism by human rights advocates as several likened it to 'ethnic cleansing by another name'.
Poppy Bilderbeck