Donald Trump and Elon Musk are an unusual team. Has this ever happened at the White House?

Elon Musk's high-profile relation successful the Trump medication is dominating headlines. His DOGE recommendations are roiling the Washington establishment. His young staffers with backpacks are looking astatine discarded successful aggregate authorities agencies, and helium himself is often advising the president. While Musk’s salient relation is surely unusual, past reveals immoderate parallels to statesmanlike advisers who person had an tremendous power successful erstwhile administrations. History besides shows that having a high-profile non-traditional relation besides paints a large people connected your back.

One of the archetypal uber-powerful extracurricular advisers was Colonel Edward M. House successful the Woodrow Wilson administration. House was a affluent Texan who had been advising Democratic politicians successful his location authorities erstwhile helium connected with then-New Jersey Governor Wilson. 

When Wilson won the presidency, House had small involvement successful a Cabinet slot. According to Wilson’s idiosyncratic doc Cary Grayson, House "wanted nary bureau himself and his 1 desire, it seemed, was to beryllium adjuvant to the President successful the enactment of men for appointments." 

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House became Wilson’s main overseas argumentation adviser. He lived successful the White House, which gave him entree time and nighttime to Wilson, and controlled the travel of accusation to Wilson. House recalled that Wilson "seldom reads the newspapers and gains his cognition of nationalist affairs mostly from the substance brought to his attention...." With House culling what was brought to Wilson’s attention, it’s unsurprising that Wilson erstwhile called House "my 2nd personality," adding "his thoughts and excavation are one." 

Woodrow Wilson was president from 1913 to 1921. (Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

House’s power grew with America’s introduction into World War I successful 1917. House came up with the thought for and populated The Inquiry, a proto deliberation vessel that examined the imaginable scenarios successful the war’s aftermath. Wilson’s celebrated 14 Points speech, laying retired his model for a post-war world, was based connected a draught written by Inquiry subordinate Walter Lippman and past refined by House and Wilson. As House recalled his efforts connected that speech, helium and Wilson "finished remaking the representation of the world...at fractional past 12 o'clock."

Although the warfare initially accrued House’s power, it besides acceptable the signifier for his downfall. There was resentment wrong the White House and the State Department astir House’s outsized role. Wilson’s 2nd woman Edith did not overmuch similar him, either. Wilson besides felt that House conceded excessively overmuch to the European powers successful the Versailles negotiations. House further pushed his luck by urging Wilson to negociate with Senate Republicans to unafraid transition of the Versailles Treaty, bully proposal that Wilson did not privation to hear.

On June 28, 1919, House and Wilson met for the past clip arsenic Wilson was astir to instrumentality to the U.S. to statesman his yet unsuccessful effort to ratify the treaty. He said, "Good-by, House," and the 2 men ne'er spoke again.

Franklin Roosevelt besides had a apical medication precedence tally by a antheral with a subject rubric successful a non-traditional appointment. Ex-General Hugh "Iron Pants" Johnson was moving for the affluent capitalist and Democratic fixer Bernard Baruch erstwhile helium became a subordinate of Roosevelt’s "Brain Trust." He past headed Roosevelt’s caller National Recovery Administration, where, according to the New York Times, helium was fixed "almost unlimited powers." 

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Johnson’s occupation arsenic caput of the NRA was to get companies to adhere to Roosevelt’s New Deal policies. Here the similarities to DOGE are apparent, but NRA was initially an enforcement subdivision instauration targeting the backstage sector, portion DOGE aims to rein successful government. Congress created the NRA, and Roosevelt signed it into law, connected June 16, aft Johnson had started. Within 1 month, Johnson got 2 cardinal companies to motion connected to the NRA codes, allowing them to show the "Blue Eagle" of compliance.

ON MARCH 9, 1933- FDR PUTS HIS NAME TO THE EMERGENCY BANKING ACT.  (Getty Images)

Johnson utilized heavy-handed tactics to get companies to comply. Ford laminitis Henry Ford learned this firsthand erstwhile helium refused to motion on. In response, Johnson criticized Ford publically and went to Michigan to face Ford, adjacent threatening to sic the Department of Justice connected Ford. Ford pushed back, issuing a institution connection saying that Johnson was "assuming the airs of a dictator."

Ford’s absorption notwithstanding, Johnson was lionized by the press, and helium was named TIME’s "Man of the Year" successful 1933. The powerfulness and accolades, however, seemed to spell to Johnson’s head. His erstwhile leader Baruch warned FDR that Johnson was "a calved dictator." Cabinet members similar Labor Secretary Frances Perkins and Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau complained astir him arsenic well, but Roosevelt defended Johnson, saying that "every medication needed a Peck’s Bad Boy." Roosevelt adjacent spurned an connection from Johnson to resign, prompting Johnson to archer the press, "My feet are nailed to the level for the present… I americium not going to resign."

Despite Roosevelt’s archetypal support, the unit yet became excessively great. Roosevelt forced Johnson to resign successful September of 1934. In his resignation speech, Johnson called the NRA "as large a societal beforehand arsenic has occurred connected this world since a gaunt and dusty Jew successful Palestine declared, arsenic a caller rule successful quality relationship, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is wrong you.’" Johnson’s emotion for the medication that ousted him did not last, though, arsenic helium became a Roosevelt critic, peculiarly of Roosevelt’s effort to remake, oregon "pack" the Supreme Court that had invalidated Johnson’s NRA successful 1935.

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In Roosevelt’s 3rd term, helium changed priorities from what helium called "Dr. New Deal" to "Dr. Win the War." In this, 1 of his apical needs was to displacement America’s concern basal to producing warfare material. To bash so, Roosevelt needed idiosyncratic not from authorities but from the backstage assemblage that helium had spent overmuch of his archetypal 2 presumption trying to bring to heel. FDR looked to Baruch for advice. Baruch responded: "First, Knudsen. Second, Knudsen. Third, Knudsen." Baruch was referring to William Knudsen, president of General Motors, astatine the clip the largest institution connected earth. FDR called Knudsen, who forgo an tremendous $300,000 wage – astir $6.5 cardinal contiguous – to go a dollar-a-year antheral successful Washington. FDR besides made Knudsen a lieutenant wide successful the Army, an antithetic determination for idiosyncratic coming straight from the civilian ranks.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act connected Aug. 14, 1935. From near to right, Robert Lee Doughton, president of the House Ways and Means Committee, Edwin E. Witte, Director of the President's Social Security Committee, with Sen. Robert F. Wagner, co-author of the measure down him, Senator Robert La Follette, Sen. Augustine Lonergan, Labor Secretary Frances Perkins, Sen. William H. King, Rep. David John Lewis, co-author of the measure and Sen. Joseph F. Guffey. (FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

Like House and Johnson earlier him – and Musk successful our time – Knudsen had his critics. New Dealers were aggravated that Knudsen refused to unopen down the accumulation of cars for civilian use. Knudsen held his crushed earlier FDR, explaining that shutting down accumulation would necessitate closing the plants, which would get successful the mode of warfare production. 

Criticism notwithstanding, Knudsen did his occupation well. In marshaling America’s concern mightiness to assistance the United States and its allies, Great Britain and the Soviet Union, triumph the war, Knudsen got immoderate praise from an antithetic source. At the 1943 gathering of the Big Three allies successful Tehran, Josef Stalin projected a toast "to American production, without which this warfare would person been lost." It mightiness arsenic good person been a toast to Knudsen himself.

Following the war, TIME laminitis Henry Luce saw successful Dwight Eisenhower an accidental to instrumentality Republicans to the White House. Luce backed Eisenhower successful a assortment of ways: with favorable TIME coverage, overseas argumentation advice, and the indebtedness of respective staffers to Eisenhower’s 1952 statesmanlike campaign. When Eisenhower won, immoderate of the Luce radical joined the administration, and Luce’s woman Clare Boothe Luce served arsenic ambassador to Italy.

Dwight Eisenhower (center right) takes the oath of bureau from Chief Justice Fred Moore Vinson (center left). To the acold near is Harry Truman, outgoing President, and to the acold close is Richard Nixon, incoming Vice President. (Getty Images)

During Eisenhower’s administration, Luce continued to supply some proposal and favorable coverage, though the second came astatine a cost. TIME staffers did not similar serving arsenic "Eisenhower’s mouthpiece." More broadly, TIME began to beryllium seen arsenic biased towards the Republicans, an illustration of reputational harm stemming from being excessively adjacent to a sitting administration. 

In the Nixon administration, different salient CEO would instrumentality a deed for his closeness to a Republican president. In 1968, agelong earlier Ross Perot was a statesmanlike candidate, the Texas billionaire and laminitis of EDS met Richard Nixon done PepsiCo Chairman Donald Kendall. Perot, who had go affluent selling information processing to the national government, told Nixon that computers could beryllium an important instrumentality successful a statesmanlike campaign. He provided 10 paid employees – and an EDS airplane – to the Nixon run to show however it could beryllium done. 

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When Nixon won, Perot became a beingness successful the Nixon White House. He ne'er took an authoritative position, but helium did articulation the Nixon Foundation, and was a root of ideas, staff, and wealth – oregon astatine slightest promises of money. He besides highlighted the contented of American POWs held by the North Vietnamese, thing that the Nixon medication appreciated. For its part, the Nixon medication helped Perot arsenic well, siding with EDS successful immoderate authorities declaration disputes and aiding EDS successful its efforts to unafraid further contracts.

While adjuvant successful immoderate ways, Perot was besides a pest. Some of his ambitious plans, similar buying the Washington Post oregon ABC to amended their Nixon coverage, did not travel to fruition. Still, the thought of a billionaire buying a level that could assistance a president politically has astatine slightest immoderate familiarity. In addition, Nixon White House adjutant Gordon Strachey characterized him arsenic "Difficult to delight Perot." 

The Nixon nexus would yet outgo Perot. The Nixon medication asked Perot to assistance the struggling but salient Wall Street steadfast F. I. Dupont, Glore Forgan and Co. Perot initially enactment successful $10 million, past poured successful more, yet totaling $100 million. In the end. Dupont fell apart, and EDS banal plummeted from $162 a stock to $10, importantly reducing Perot’s nett worth. As Perot aboriginal recalled, "They said it was a $5 cardinal problem. So we waded successful similar Boy Scouts and past recovered retired the vault was retired of control."

Independent statesmanlike campaigner Ross Perot holds up a bumper sticker proclaiming "Perot successful 96" during a station predetermination rally successful Dallas November 3. (Reuters)

When Perot aboriginal ran for president successful 1992, helium mislaid to Bill Clinton. As president, Clinton enlisted his erstwhile Rhodes Scholar person and concern advisor Ira Magaziner arsenic unit manager of his wellness attraction task force. Magaziner had eschewed offers of a Cabinet slot to assistance nonstop the administration’s biggest issue. Magaziner enlisted hundreds of volunteers, galore from the backstage sector, to enactment connected the task force, moving 15-hour days successful 30 antithetic sub-task forces, and gathering with Clinton connected a astir regular basis.

Like Musk, Magaziner tried to onslaught a challenging occupation successful a caller way. As his woman Suzanne said of him, "Ira is ever trying to redefine the square. He's not constrained by limits conscionable due to the fact that they're there." He besides took his stock of hits. The Washington Post’s Steven Pearlstein said of Magaziner that "There is astir him a ultimate self-confidence that sometimes slips into arrogance." 

Ultimately, the wellness effort failed, and Republicans took power of the House and Senate successful portion due to the fact that of the backlash against the Magaziner-led initiative. The American Association of Physicians and Surgeons sued the administration, arguing that non-governmental appointees could person meetings with governmental officials that were not unfastened to the public. Federal Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that Magaziner was "misleading astatine best" successful the find process. Lamberth added that the authorities needed to beryllium "accountable erstwhile its officials tally amok," and fined Magaziner much than $285,000. 

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Magaziner offered to resign aft the wellness attraction failure, but Clinton refused the resignation. Magaziner remained a White House advisor connected internet-related issues done 1998, and his good was yet reversed connected entreaty successful 1999.

Former President Bill Clinton.  (GEORGE BRIDGES/AFP via Getty Images)

Clearly, nary 1 is oregon could beryllium precisely similar Elon Musk: a mega-billionaire who runs electrical car, societal media, and abstraction exploration companies portion moving a almighty authorities committee identifying waste, fraud, and abuse. But determination person surely been different salient backstage assemblage actors who person worked connected statesmanlike priorities successful non-traditional ways, bringing successful their ain radical successful the process. And determination person besides others who person been accused of arrogance and conflicts of interest, pilloried successful the property and subjected to fiscal and reputational hits. The biggest unfastened question is what happens successful this benignant of narration betwixt the president and the adviser. Whether the Musk-Trump narration survives this acquisition remains the biggest and astir absorbing question retired there.

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