Trump 2nd term updates: Trump attends the Super Bowl

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday that Elon Musk is classified as a "special government employee" but could not say if he passed a background check.

"I can confirm he's a special government employee. I can also confirm that he has abided by all applicable federal laws," Leavitt said. "As for his security clearance, I'm not sure, but I can check back with you."

She also said she did not know if Musk's aides at the Department of Government Efficiency have a security clearance, or if Musk took the oath of office that White House officials such as herself take.

Reporters asked Leavitt if Musk had expertise in global health and humanitarian aid considering DOGE's role in shuttering the doors at USAID.

"Well, first of all, Elon Musk is a once-in-a-generation business leader. He is an entrepreneur. He serves as a great ally and a friend to the president," Leavitt responded. "And I think Elon Musk also has a little bit of common sense, and I think the American people really appreciate that when it comes to the federal government, because it seems like all common sense has been lost in this city, and that's what you see when you look at USAID."

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow

Protesters were in front of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Monday in opposition to Elon Musk's aides gaining access to federal human resources databases that contain sensitive information for millions of federal employees.

Keya Chatterjee, the executive director of the local nonprofit Free DC, told ABC News an "administrative coup" is taking place where "the president has become a puppet of Musk."

"This kind of consolidation of power can lead to a really dangerous outcomes. We’ve seen it in different countries and now is the moment to roll this back," Chatterjee said.

The majority of the roughly 20 protesters were covered from head to toe to conceal their identities and were hesitant to speak with the media. Some spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

“We decided we need to grab some people every morning this week and just do a small rally or picket in front of boarding other agencies that are being attacked, and just make it known that we do not support this and we have those First Amendment rights to speak out against that, because a lot of federal workers don't think they have rights," one federal worker told ABC News.

-ABC News' Rebecca Gelpi

President Donald Trump again expressed his desire for the U.S. to regain control of the Panama Canal, and said he would hold a call with Panama officials on Friday afternoon.

"We either want it back or we're going to get something very strong or we're going to take it back," Trump said as he took reporter questions in the Oval Office, where he continued to criticize former President Jimmy Carter for negotiating a treaty that ceded control of the waterway to the Central American nation.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in Panama on Sunday as part of his first official trip to the region, demanded that Panama do something about China's influence over the canal. In remarks after their meeting, Panamanian leader José Raúl Mulino was sympathetic to some of the Trump administration's concerns, like immigration and Chinese influence but unmoved on the issue of canal control. Mulino said technical experts would meet with U.S. officials to discuss concerns they had, and maintained that the neutrality of the waterway was not in question.

"We're going to be talking to Panama on Friday, essentially," Trump said. "And they've agreed to certain things, but I'm not happy with it."

President Donald Trump was asked about Elon Musk and representatives of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team having access to the vast Treasury Department payment system.

"Well, he's got access only to letting people go that he thinks are no good if we agree with him," Trump said. "And it's only if we agree with him. He's a very talented guy from the standpoint of management and costs. And we put him in charge of seeing what he can do with certain groups and certain numbers."

Trump went on to claim Musk's team is finding "tremendous waste."

"We're trying to shrink government and he can probably shrink it as well as anybody else, if not better," Trump said. "Where we think there's a conflict or there's a problem, we won't let him go near it. But he has some very good ideas."

When later asked directly if everything Musk's done recently had his support, Trump said: "For the most part, yeah. If there was something that didn't have my okay, I'd let you know about it right really fast."

"Elon can't do and won't do anything without our approval. And we'll give him the approval where appropriate. Where not appropriate. We won't," Trump said.