US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order giving billionaire Elon Musk's unofficial Department of Government Efficiency the power to direct federal agencies in cost-reduction efforts.
According to the Tuesday executive order, federal agencies are instructed to work with Musk’s team on job cuts and hiring limitations. Each agency must plan for major reductions in staff and limit hiring to "essential positions," the White House summary said.
Trump, alongside Musk in the Oval Office, praised his work, which has proved controversial with both the public and legal scholars, who have called it unconstitutional. Trump also called on Musk to take on further responsibilities.
Excluding sectors like national security, law enforcement, and immigration, Trump’s order is an unprecedented attempt to shrink the nation’s 2.2 million federal workforce while bypassing Congress’ constitutional “power of the purse.”
Under the constitutional separation of powers, money allocated by Congress must be spent, and can only be cut by another act of Congress.
Musk said his team is investigating the net worth of federal workers, adding that a high net worth may indicate potential fraud.
"There are quite a few people in the bureaucracy who have ostensibly a salary of a few hundred thousand dollars but somehow managed to accrue tens of millions of dollars in net worth," he said. "We're just curious as to where it came from.”
Critics of Musk say that under the Constitution’s guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures, he has no right to examine federal workers’ personal financial records without a judge’s warrant.
In demonstrations, members of the public and Congress have protested giving Musk access to government databases, including sensitive material.
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