Special government employee

Many SGEs have limited roles on federal advisory committees. SGEs have a variety of roles, depending on the agency; for example, Department of Justice SGEs included attorneys with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, Department of Health and Human Services SGEs included medical professionals associated with the National Disaster Medical System, and National Science Foundation and Nuclear Regulatory Commission SGEs include scientists and technical experts. In 2013, there were only 50 SGEs that had roles other than as members of federal advisory committees, and 15 of the 50 were unpaid. == History ==

The SGE category was created by Congress in 1962 and was aimed at allowing the federal government to take advantage of outside experts who are employed in the private sector. The Office of Government Ethics has stated that "SGEs were originally conceived as a 'hybrid' class, in recognition of the fact that the simple categories of 'employee' and 'non-employee' are no longer adequate to describe the multiplicity of ways in which modern government gets its work done." == Ethics ==

SGEs are subject to some federal ethics rules, but are exempt from others. If a contract were to arise directly out of the special government employee's advisory services, or the appointment could be influenced by the special government employee, or another conflict of interest were to affect the appointment, then the prohibition would still apply. SGEs who do not meet both the 60 day and pay requirements must file confidential financial disclosures unless their position entails only a remote possibility of a conflict of interest or is low enough to make reporting unnecessary. ==Notable examples==

Notable examples of SGEs include Huma Abedin (who was an SGE in the State Department in 2012, working for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton), and Elon Musk (appointed by Donald Trump as de facto leader of the Department of Government Efficiency in 2025). ==See also==