President Donald Trump gave Elon Musk and the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency a shoutout in his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.
Trump said DOGE is “headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight.”
Musk stood and acknowledged the cheers from the crowd. Trump added: “Thank you, Elon. He’s working very hard. He didn’t need this.”
“Everybody here, even this side, appreciates it, I believe,” Trump said, referring to the side of the chamber where many Democrats are sitting. “They just don’t want to admit that.”
Some background: While Trump said Musk was in charge of DOGE, a White House official told CNN last week that Amy Gleason is the acting administrator of the US DOGE Service, the agency that houses the temporary Department of Government Efficiency.
Gleason has a background in health care and previously worked at the US Digital Service, an office created by President Barack Obama. Her position with DOGE was first reported by the Washington Examiner.
While Musk has served as the initiative’s public face and continues to issue social-media directives to government workers, the White House has maintained that his status is one of a special government employee, and not a full-time worker.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and Tierney Sneed contributed reporting to this post, which has been updated with background about who is in charge of DOGE.
