On Wednesday, though, Trump contradicted his legal team, declaring: “I signed an order creating the Department of Government Efficiency and put a man named Elon Musk in charge,

The White House says billionaire Elon Musk is not the administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency team sweeping through federal agencies, but rather a senior adviser to President Donald Trump.

These suits will no doubt proceed in the weeks and months ahead, as it falls to the courts to hold Musk accountable for his blatant indifference to the law. But beyond his individual actions, Musk’s role raises more fundamental questions.