United States: Elon Musk will be present at the first council of ministers of the second term of Donald Trump

He does not have a portfolio, but has a special place in the US government. Elon Musk, launched in a radical overhaul of the federal bureaucracy, would attend the first council of ministers of the second term of President Donald Trump on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the White House Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday.

The multimillionaire, who does not have a minister’s portfolio but a status as a “special employee” of the government, directs a commission with government efficiency (DOGE), whose spectacular announcements and radical decisions no longer stop shaking the American state apparatus.

Pressures on civil servants

Summoned by Donald Trump to be “more aggressive” in his mission to slar in public spending, the richest man on the planet had enjoined federal officials on Saturday to respond to an email, saying that “the lack of response” before midnight on Monday evening would be considered a “resignation”.

“At the discretion of the president, civil servants have a new chance,” Elon Musk announced on Monday evening on the X network (ex-Twitter), which he has, adding that the lack of response “a second time will result in the dismissal”.

The ally of the Republican President, however, did not give a new deadline to respond to the message entitled “What did you do last week?” “, Sent by human resources department of the federal administration, the OPM, to the employees concerned. The OPM required an answer describing five tasks accomplished during the previous week, also sent to its manager. It is only requested not to share confidential information.

The initiative of Elon Musk, owner of X, boss of Tesla and SpaceX, known to expect his own employees a total dedication, accentuated the confusion within a state apparatus already under pressure. The email received by civil servants, however, did not mention the risk of being considered as resigning in the event of lack of response.

As the limit hour approaches, Donald Trump, who defended the background and the form by calling Elon Musk’s message as “brilliant”, said on Monday that those who do not respond would be “half -fired” or outright returned, without explaining his words. “If people do not answer, it most likely means that they do not exist or do not work,” he said before journalists.

Several services, including led by faithful from Donald Trump, have however advised civil servants not to respond, at least immediately. Among them, the Ministry of Defense. This is also the case of officials appointed by the new Washington strong man at the FBI, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the national intelligence, according to American media.