Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Monday called on Donald Trump to place guardrails around billionaire Elon Musk, who has maintained a near-constant presence in the president-elect’s inner circle since his victory in November’s election.
In a letter addressed to Trump, Warren emphasized the need for Musk “to resolve his conflicts of interest if he wishes to continue serving as a top adviser to [Trump] and [his] transition team.”
Despite his role in Trump’s orbit, it’s unclear if Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is subject to any ethics rules. Musk has seen his net worth explode since Trump’s victory.
Warren argued that the billionaire should share more details about his role and follow the same guidelines laid out in the Trump Vance 2025 Transition Team Ethics Plan, which stipulates that members of the presidential transition team have to “avoid both actual and apparent conflicts of interest.”
Doing so, Warren said, would reassure the American public.
“Putting Mr. Musk in a position to influence billions of dollars of government contracts and regulatory enforcement without a stringent conflict of interest agreement in place is an invitation for corruption on a scale not seen in our lifetimes,” Warren wrote.
“As your Transition Team Ethics Plan makes clear, the role of government is not to line the pockets of the wealthiest Americans; a strong, enforceable ethics plan for the world’s richest man is a necessary first step for delivering on that promise,” she added.
Jeff Hauser, director of the Revolving Door Project, a nonprofit that tracks corporate influence on the executive branch, recently told HuffPost he’s concerned that Musk won’t be subject to the same scrutiny and oversight of Senate-confirmed Cabinet members.
“There are even fewer ethical restrictions on his behavior that could ever possibly be enforced,” Hauser said.
Trump and Musk have been inseparable since the election, with the tech executive even joining Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month. Musk has accompanied Trump on trips, including his recent visit to France for the Notre Dame reopening. Trump has also announced the billionaire will lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency alongside former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to cut government spending.
“Mr. Musk is no ordinary citizen,” Warren warned.
Musk’s companies Tesla and SpaceX have lucrative government contracts. Warren suggested Musk has a great deal to gain from his proximity to Trump.
Matthew Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, a union that represents NASA employees, said he’s worried Musk could try to push more public money towards SpaceX at the expense of NASA program funding.
“The concern at NASA is that Elon Musk is standing there, waiting,” Biggs told HuffPost.
Warren noted that Musk’s companies have “an ongoing interest in how the government does or does not enforce labor laws, workplace safety rules, environmental regulations, and other federal laws.”
SpaceX is also at the center of a conservative legal effort to undermine the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that enforces collective-bargaining law.
NLRB officials are prosecuting SpaceX for allegedly breaking the law by firing several employees after they criticized Musk. SpaceX, in turn, has defended itself by filing a federal lawsuit claiming the structure of the NLRB is unconstitutional. The case could go before the Supreme Court.
Trump will have the opportunity to nominate new board members to set policy at the NLRB — potentially with Musk’s input.
Musk himself also faces various investigations from government oversight bodies.
In response to Warren’s letter, Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump, mocked Warren without addressing any of the concerns she raised, according to The Washington Post.
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“Pocahontas can play political games and send toothless letters, but the Trump-Vance transition will continue to be held to the highest ethical and legal standards possible — a standard unfamiliar to a career politician whose societal impact is 1/1024th of Elon Musk’s,” Leavitt said.