Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) expressed concern about the apparent conflict of interest posed by the new administration's top adviser, Elon Musk, and urged President-elect Trump to decide whether to ask the billionaire businessman. It asks them to explain how such ethical standards apply. .
She wants to know whether Musk adheres to the Trump transition team's ethical standards and whether he has signed on to its code of conduct.
“Putting Mr. Musk in a position where he can influence multibillion-dollar government contracts and regulatory enforcement without a strict conflict of interest agreement in place is unprecedented in our lifetimes,” Warren wrote in a letter to Trump. “This will lead to corruption on a scale never seen before.” on monday.
Warren said Musk “described himself as a very influential figure” in Trump's orbit, participating in the president-elect's phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and having a top-secret meeting with Iran's ambassador to the United Nations. He pointed out that he had met.
He also noted that Musk has been named co-chair of President Trump's newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will play an influential role in recommending deep spending cuts.
“He has been called 'America's most powerful private citizen.' But Mr. Musk is not an ordinary person. He is the CEO of several companies with significant interests in the federal government,” Warren wrote. , added that Musk's Tesla Inc. has won nearly $42 million in government contracts to provide electric vehicles (EVs) and services to the federal government.
He also noted that Tesla recently agreed to modify Tesla's charging network to make it compatible with competitors' vehicles, a deal that is part of the Biden administration's plan to fund EV charging stations. He also mentioned that.
And she won $20 billion in government contracts received by Mr. Musk's other company, SpaceX, to provide rocket launches for missions to the International Space Station and put national security satellites into orbit. emphasized.
“In addition to being heavily dependent on government contracts and other forms of direct and indirect government support, SpaceX, Tesla, and Mr. Musk's other companies have been forced to comply with government regulations regarding labor laws and workplace safety.” “We have an ongoing interest in how we enforce, or do not enforce, environmental regulations and other federal laws,” Warren wrote.
The Massachusetts senator argued that Musk's “substantial personal interests create a significant conflict of interest with his role as Trump's 'unofficial co-president.'”
She cited two reports from last week that said there could be “obvious conflicts of interest” related to the advice Musk is providing to the president-elect and his team.
He noted that earlier this month, Musk announced a Securities and Exchange Commission settlement request related to the Twitter acquisition, making it clear that he could face securities fraud charges.
And she raised red flags over the revelation that Musk's company Neuralink is facing an SEC investigation.
He also argued that Tesla would benefit if the incoming Trump administration recommended eliminating the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's requirement that companies report crash data for self-driving cars.
He explained that federal ethics rules for public officials are designed to protect the public from conflicts of interest and ensure that public officials work in the public interest rather than their own financial interests.
Warren acknowledged that Musk is not a federal employee, but said Musk must be held to the ethical standards of federal employees because “the conflicts he faces are so great.” .
He cited the Trump transition team's ethics plan to ensure that team members avoid both actual and apparent conflicts of interest and that team members discuss specific issues with parties that could benefit from the outcome. It states that it is prohibited to work on it.
Warren asked Trump if Musk would recuse himself from discussions and decisions by the Department of Government Efficiency and from issues affecting Tesla, SpaceX, social media company X, or other companies run by Musk. They are asking him to clarify whether he will step down. Big investment.
Warren asked the Trump transition team to respond by Dec. 23 at the latest.
