Musk Supports Idea That Trump Should Have Authority to Fire Any Official

Elon Musk expresses support for the notion that former President Donald Trump should have the authority to fire any federal official, stirring debates about executive power.

Elon Musk expressed on X Thursday that he believes President-elect Donald Trump should have the freedom to make any necessary personnel changes within the executive branch of the government.

Musk’s statement was a reaction to an idea proposed by Utah Senator Mike Lee, who previously wrote that “the president of the United States should be able to fire any person employed in the Executive Branch at any time for any reason,” except for the vice president. Musk agreed with this notion by responding, “Absolutely.”

The executive branch includes the president, their cabinet, a variety of executive departments, independent agencies, and other boards.

Lee commented on Trump’s intention to implement several unorthodox personnel changes in the government if he returns to the White House. After his win in the November election, Trump began announcing candidates for high-level roles within his administration. Nevertheless, as reported by the Washington Times, at least two of these positions won’t become available for a few years; they include FBI Director Christopher Wray’s role and IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel’s position.

The New York Times reports that, under Congressional rules, officials in these and several other positions have fixed terms and typically do not change when a new president takes office. Replacing the leaders of these agencies is generally seen as breaking with tradition. However, experts point out that the president does possess the legal authority to make such changes.

David Lewis, a political scientist at Vanderbilt University specializing in presidential nominations, told the Washington Times that traditionally there were more political constraints on removing someone before their term ended unless misconduct was involved. However, he noted that this political safeguard is weakening and might no longer be effective.

During his presidential campaign, Trump frequently promised to overhaul the US government entirely. He proposed that Musk and fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which would focus on cutting government waste and simplifying federal bureaucracy. Recently, Ramaswamy introduced a plan aiming to reduce the federal workforce by 75%.

Donald Trump has chosen Kash Patel, a former adviser known for his strong loyalty to him, as the candidate for the next FBI director. Patel has previously criticized the agency in his latest book, labeling it a “government gangster” and accusing it of orchestrating “deep state corruption” within America. For the Internal Revenue Service, Trump proposed Billy Long—a former Republican congressman from Missouri—as its potential new leader. Long had formerly supported legislation aimed at eliminating the federal tax authority and substituting a national sales tax system for federal income taxes.