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Elizabeth Warren Urges Trump to Set Conflict-of-Interest Rules for Elon Musk, DOGE Co-Chair, to Prevent Corruption

Dec 17, 2024, 07:32 PM

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has called on President-elect Donald Trump to establish clear conflict-of-interest rules for Elon Musk, the world's richest man and Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who serves as a top adviser to the incoming administration. In a letter to Trump, Warren expressed concerns about Musk's significant private interests potentially conflicting with his advisory role, which she described as that of an 'unofficial co-president.' Warren emphasized the need for Musk to adhere to the same ethics standards as other members of the Trump transition team, particularly given Musk's involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory body outside of the formal government structure, where he serves as co-chair alongside Vivek Ramaswamy. Warren's letter also questioned whether Musk would recuse himself from matters affecting his companies, such as Tesla and SpaceX, which have substantial government contracts and regulatory interests. Trump's transition team, through spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, responded by criticizing Warren and asserting that the transition would maintain high ethical standards, without directly addressing the specifics of Musk's ethics obligations. Warren warned that allowing Musk to influence billions of dollars of government contracts and regulatory enforcement without a stringent conflict of interest agreement in place could invite corruption on a scale not seen in our lifetimes.