{"id":29262,"date":"2025-02-07T11:32:53","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T11:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/popularnews71.net\/?p=29262"},"modified":"2025-02-07T11:32:53","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T11:32:53","slug":"leavitt-swats-down-cnn-reporter-asking-about-elon-musk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/popularnews71.net\/?p=29262","title":{"rendered":"Leavitt Swats Down CNN Reporter Asking About Elon Musk"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you confirm that Elon Musk is a special government employee?\u201d asked CNN chief White House correspondent\u00a0Kaitlan Collins. \u201cAnd what kind of security clearance does he have?\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI can confirm he\u2019s a special government employee. I can also confirm that he has abided by all applicable federal laws. As for his security clearance, I\u2019m not sure, but I can check back with you,\u201d Leavitt responded.<\/p>\n

Collins pressed, \u201cDid he pass a background check, do you know?\u201d That led the press secretary to respond, \u201cI don\u2019t know about the security clearance, but I can check.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pressed further as to whether she knew if anyone on Musk\u2019s team had received a security clearance, Leavitt again responded, \u201cI don\u2019t, no, but again, I can check on that for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also Monday, CNN\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that Musk\u2019s designation as a special government employee means he \u201cis not a volunteer but also not a full-time federal employee.\u201d The outlet also reported that an unnamed source claimed that Musk had been given \u201ca top-secret security clearance.\u201d<\/p>\n

CNN guest and attorney Arthur Aidala\u00a0argued last month that Musk shouldn\u2019t need a background check to work in government because he had \u201cgotten us into space\u201d and \u201cgotten us to the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n

On that point, Musk\u00a0vowed<\/a>\u00a0in January to bring home two astronauts who have been stranded in space for nearly eight months \u201cas soon as possible\u201d and criticized the Biden White House for failing to retrieve them sooner.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Plans to use a SpaceX capsule for their return had been in place since Biden\u2019s presidency, but the mission was repeatedly delayed, the New York Post\u00a0reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The two NASA pilots traveled to the International Space Station aboard a Starliner, which was Boeing\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @SpaceStation as soon as possible. We will do so,\u201d Musk\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0on his social media app, X, Tuesday evening. \u201cTerrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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While the SpaceX capsule designated for their return is already in orbit, Musk\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Initially, Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy\u00a0were tapped<\/a>\u00a0to lead DOGE, though Ramaswamy has since bowed out to run for governor of Ohio. Both were vocal throughout Trump\u2019s campaign about the need to reduce the size and power of the federal government.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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],\u201d Trump\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0on his Truth Social platform in November.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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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. \u201cCan… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nLeavitt Swats Down CNN Reporter Asking About Elon Musk - Popular News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/popularnews71.net\/?p=29262\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leavitt Swats Down CNN Reporter Asking About Elon Musk - 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