Vincent Agquiz

Elon Musk has made himself increasingly comfortable in President Donald Trump’s administration. He has managed to hold more power than any actual qualified White House staff member. The most recent controversy with Musk involves his access to top-secret U.S. plans for a potential war with China. 

The New York Times had released an article on Musk’s future involvement in a Pentagon briefing regarding the war plans. Since the publishing of that article, both Musk and Trump have denied the claims made, arguing that Musk’s business with China could get in the way of his car production plans. Whether fake news or not, no one would put it past Musk to meddle in whatever plan Trump and his administration have coming for China. 

The Pentagon is a military powerhouse that holds top-secret information that only certain government officials can access. It would be a problem if a billionaire who’s clearance level is as “top secret” as Musk’s were to contribute to the discussion of war or even be informed of the ongoing events in the Pentagon because of his nonexistent experience and authority on the topic. 

The claims that Musk was just visiting the Pentagon seem questionable because if it was a casual briefing, there would be no need to hold it in the U.S. military hub. Even then, there is no reason Musk should be getting a briefing from U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth about anything because he is nothing but a billionaire who bought his way into power. That power should not include holding secrets and providing opinions on how the government handles their business.

In an interview with Eric Schmitt, a New York Times national security reporter, he mentioned the war plan briefing kept being pushed back and eventually scrapped. It appears as odd behavior for someone who was attending a meeting that had nothing to do with classified information. Knowing that a person like Musk, who has little to no purpose in the Trump administration, is sticking his head into national security business should be a concern for Americans.

Elon Musk has had access to most information and decisions coming from the Trump administration. The thought of a billionaire who has no qualifications to handle legal matters in the government being informed of some top-secret information is terrifying. As he oversteps his authority as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, what he plans to do with that information and access is something to look out for.