White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt faced questions on Monday about whether billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk had received security clearance or passed a background check.
“Can you confirm that Elon Musk is a special government employee?” asked CNN chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins. “And what kind of security clearance does he have?”
“I can confirm he’s a special government employee. I can also confirm that he has abided by all applicable federal laws. As for his security clearance, I’m not sure, but I can check back with you,” Leavitt responded.
Collins pressed, “Did he pass a background check, do you know?” That led the press secretary to respond, “I don’t know about the security clearance, but I can check.”
Pressed further as to whether she knew if anyone on Musk’s team had received a security clearance, Leavitt again responded, “I don’t, no, but again, I can check on that for you.”
Also Monday, CNN reported that Musk’s designation as a special government employee means he “is not a volunteer but also not a full-time federal employee.” The outlet also reported that an unnamed source claimed that Musk had been given “a top-secret security clearance.”
CNN guest and attorney Arthur Aidala argued last month that Musk shouldn’t need a background check to work in government because he had “gotten us into space” and “gotten us to the moon.”
On that point, Musk vowed in January to bring home two astronauts who have been stranded in space for nearly eight months “as soon as possible” and criticized the Biden White House for failing to retrieve them sooner.
The SpaceX CEO and head of the Department of Government Efficiency revealed in a social media post that President Donald Trump personally requested his help in rescuing astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. The pair has been in space since last June on what was originally planned as a weeklong mission.
Plans to use a SpaceX capsule for their return had been in place since Biden’s presidency, but the mission was repeatedly delayed, the New York Post reported.
The two NASA pilots traveled to the International Space Station aboard a Starliner, which was Boeing’s first flight into space. However, issues arose with the capsule, including helium leaks and thruster malfunctions. As such, NASA ordered the Starliner back to Earth last year after technicians determined it was not safe to have humans aboard.
“The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @SpaceStation as soon as possible. We will do so,” Musk wrote on his social media app, X, Tuesday evening. “Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.”
NASA had initially planned for astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to return to Earth aboard a SpaceX capsule by February. However, the mission was pushed back to March or early April due to delays.
While the SpaceX capsule designated for their return is already in orbit, Musk’s company postponed the launch of the replacement crew, who must first arrive at the space station before Wilmore and Williams can depart, The Post noted.
The outlet said that typically, NASA likes to have overlapping crews at the station for an easier transition. SpaceX, meanwhile, postponed the launch of its capsule to work on it.
Initially, Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy were tapped to lead DOGE, though Ramaswamy has since bowed out to run for governor of Ohio. Both were vocal throughout Trump’s campaign about the need to reduce the size and power of the federal government.
“I am pleased to announce that the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE],” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform in November.
