U.S. President-elect Donald Trump walks with Elon Musk before attending a launch visit for the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas, USA.
Brandon Bell | via Reuters
Sen. Elizabeth Warren calls on Donald Trump’s transition team to hold Elon Musk to the same ethical standards as other transition members, highlighting unusually powerful oversight of presidential aides are gathering.
Billionaire CEO tesla The owner of rocket company SpaceX and social media platform Mr. Musk has spent more than $500 million helping Mr. Trump get elected, and also owns interests in cryptocurrencies and other businesses.
In a letter to Trump’s transition team released by her office on Tuesday, Warren said: “Musk’s vital personal interests are based on the role he has assumed as ‘unofficial co-president’ and his vital interests. “It shows a contradiction.” “Right now, the American people have no way of knowing whether the advice he’s secretly whispering is good for the country or just for his own bottom line.”
Warren pointed out that Musk’s role as co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency, a new Trump advisory body that is not part of the U.S. government, means he is not a public official. did. That’s a huge deal, and it’s clear he needs to follow similar ethical standards. ”
Trump’s transition team had no immediate comment.
Asked about a possible conflict with Musk in a Dec. 12 interview with Time magazine, Trump said, “I think Elon puts the country a lot more than his company.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, R-Mass., speaks with Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Director of Defense Intelligence Scott D. Verrier during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on “Global Threats” in the Dirksen Building on Thursday, May. Ask questions to officials. April 2023.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call Inc. | Getty Images
Daniel Bryan, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, told Reuters that past presidents often enlisted businessmen for efficiency commissions.
The key difference in this case, Bryan said, is that the industry Musk is investing in is still in its infancy. That means decisions by Trump-appointed regulators could transform the sectors they work in, potentially favoring certain Musk companies.
President Trump’s transition team released an Ethics Pledge in November, urging member states to “avoid actual and apparent conflicts of interest” and “to the best of our knowledge, “We must not participate in any particular transition matter that may conflict.” .. or any other person or organization with whom we have a business or close personal relationship. ”
Musk’s task force aims to overhaul the U.S. government, which spent $6.8 trillion in the most recent fiscal year and has threatened to lay off thousands of government workers.
Among other regulatory changes, Trump’s transition team wants the incoming administration to repeal car accident reporting requirements opposed by Musk’s electric car company Tesla, Reuters reported last week. .
Former Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub told Reuters he felt Musk’s role could jeopardize national security and public safety. OGE is tasked with overseeing ethical standards in the executive branch.
Mr. Schaub resigned in July 2017, months before the end of his term, after clashing with the first Trump administration. “Taxpayers should deplore the fact that their money is being used to benefit Mr. Musk and not the American people.”
