That may have had unintended consequences.
President Donald Trump‘s lawyers have repeatedly argued in court filings that world’s richest man Elon Musk isn’t technically the person in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency.
The lawyers have argued Musk “he has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions” as part of a lawsuit challenging DOGE’s lack of congressional oversight.
Instead, the lawyers told a judge a federal worker, Amy Gleason, administered DOGE.
Trump poured cold water on those filings about 20 minutes into his speech Tuesday night.
“To further combat inflation, we will not only be reducing the cost of energy, but will be ending the flagrant waste of taxpayer dollars,” he told a joint session of Congress. “And to that end, I have created the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE—perhaps you’ve heard of it. Perhaps. Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight. Thank you, Elon. He’s working very hard.”
Within hours of his remarks, the parties challenging Trump and DOGE entered the president’s remarks as evidence that Musk was in charge.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, meanwhile, are introducing a pair of resolutions demanding the Trump administration turn over documents and information about Musk’s potential conflicts of interest and the firings of federal workers.
It’s the most aggressive move yet by Democrats trying to confront Trump’s actions. The top Democrat on the panel, Congressman Gerald Connolly of Virginia and Congressman Kweisi Mfume of Maryland are leading the effort as the party mounts a resistance against the Trump-Musk dismantling of government.
The resolutions of inquiry would launch investigations into Trump’s Republican administration and Musk through the Oversight panel. If the Republican-led committee fails to act, which is likely, the Democrats could push the resolutions to a House floor vote in a matter of weeks.
The action comes as Democrats are deepening their opposition to the Trump administration’s actions, particularly those of Musk’s DOGE, which is blazing through the federal government, slashing jobs and programs in search of waste, fraud and abuse.
It is unlikely that Republicans would approve the resolutions in a floor vote, but Democrats would want to test that in the House, which is narrowly split between the parties. As a House resolution, passage would launch the probe, without needing to go to the Senate for action.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
