Elon Musk, shown in the Oval Office at the White House earlier this month. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Washington: Elon Musk, who has embarked on an overhaul of the US federal government, will attend the first cabinet meeting of President Donald Trump's second term on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
The world's wealthiest person and a top Trump donor, Musk has no ministerial portfolio or formal decision-making authority but has status as a "special government employee" and "senior adviser to the president" heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked by the president with slashing federal spending.
Control of media access at White House
The White House also announced on Tuesday that it would decide which journalists get access to President Donald Trump's events -- removing the power from an independent association of media outlets that has done so for decades.
The move comes amid a legal battle with the Associated Press news agency, which the White House has barred from events in spaces such as the Oval Office and Air Force One in a row over the naming of the Gulf of Mexico.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) had "long dictated" which journalists were in the so-called "pool," the small group of journalists given access to "intimate spaces."
"Not anymore. I am proud to announce that we are going to give the power back to the people who read your papers, who watch your television shows and who listen to your radio stations," Leavitt said.
"Moving forward, the White House press pool will be determined by the White House press team."
