Elon Musk is expected to use office space in the White House complex

Elon Musk is expected to use office space in the White House complex as he launches the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to reduce government spending in the Trump administration, according to two people familiar with the plans.

The space will be located in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is located next to the White House. The location could allow Mr. Musk, who owns companies with billions of dollars in federal government contracts, to still have significant access to President-elect Donald J. Trump when he takes office this month.

Mr. Musk donated hundreds of millions to help Mr. Trump win the 2024 election and has been a regular at his side ever since, often using one of the cottages available for rent at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. During the transition, he participated in official meetings and at least one invitation abroad, and weighed the choice of staff and cabinet.

It was not clear whether Vivek Ramaswamy, Mr. Musk’s partner in running the project, would also have office space in the Eisenhower Building.

The Musk-Ramaswamy project is called the Department of Government Effectiveness, or DOGE, but it’s not a “department” in the sense of the Justice Department — an official part of the government authorized by Congress. Mr. Musk’s status and the project have raised countless questions about the rules for outsiders who help manage government power.

DOGE staff members currently work in Washington, DC, at the offices of Mr. Musk’s SpaceX company.

Mr. Musk has spoken with transition officials about what his level of access to the West Wing will be, but that remains unclear, according to two people familiar with the matter. Staff members and others who are free to come and go in the West Wing usually require a special pass.

Officials with the Trump transition and DOGE affiliates did not respond to requests for comment.

The work surrounding DOGE has been shrouded in secrecy until now, with the transition revealing little or nothing about how it will work or how it will be budgeted.

It remains to be seen how big Mr. Musk’s team will be, as well as what his status will be. Some transition officials have suggested he could become a “special government employee,” a status that can be paid or unpaid and has more flexible rules for personal financial disclosures than what is required of regular employees.

If he did, Mr. Musk, the world’s richest man, would almost certainly forgo a salary. But there could be legal implications for how the Trump administration ends up defining Mr. Muska and how DOGE fits into the bureaucracy of the executive branch.

One issue involves ethics rules, including disclosure of financial information, and prohibitions on certain conflicts of interest, such as restrictions on the ability of former government employees to lobby on behalf of certain private interests after working on relevant issues while in temporary service.

In particular, all civil servants, including temporary ones in particular, are subject to a criminal conflict of interest law that prohibits them from participating in official business in which they or their families or organizations have a financial interest. Because some of Mr. Musk’s companies have contracts with the federal government, that statute appears to prohibit DOGE from working on related matters if it assumes such status.

If Mr. If Musk or his staff became special government employees, they would have to file financial disclosure forms. However, if they decide to drop the hefty government salaries, the Trump administration could keep that information secret from the public.

There would also be implications for government transparency laws.

One such law is the Federal Advisory Board Act, which regulates committees, panels, councils and other types of committees that work with people outside government to give advice to the executive.

If Mr. Musk is not seeking special civil servant status for himself and all of his staff members and all other contributors, the law appears to apply to DOGE’s work. Among other things, the law states that all meetings of such commissions must be public, and all documents submitted to or produced by such a council must also be available to the public.

Mr. Musk has not yet decided whether he will assume the status and duties of a special civil servant, according to his allies.

Another relevant issue is the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA. It allows members of the press or the public to request access to official records, subject to certain exceptions, and to file lawsuits for court orders requiring their disclosure.

The president and his immediate White House staff whose sole function is to advise him are considered exempt from FOIA requests. But much of the larger bureaucracy that surrounds them is subject to such demands.