‘Elon will excuse himself …’: White House Press Sec says Elon Musk will decide if he has conflicts of interest or not
In response to Americans’ mounting concerns over Elon Musk’s conflicts of interest in the government, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration will let Musk decide whether he has conflicts of interest.
Following Donald Trump’s re-election as President of the United States, he made Musk the head of an unofficial government department: the Department of Government Efficiency. The position raised concerns given that Musk has conflicts of interest and no government experience, making him a poor choice to manage the government’s budget. Since he took over SpaceX, the company has received over $15 billion in federal government contracts. Meanwhile, Tesla has received over $40 million in contracts since 2008. It’s not hard to see how these conflicts of interest could compromise him. As Musk tries to find at least $1 trillion in government budget cuts, he can sacrifice something that doesn’t impact him, like child cancer research funding, while preserving the spending that benefits him and his businesses. He could also very well try to use significant cuts and layoffs to retaliate against government departments that have investigated or regulated his business practices.
Concern for his conflicts of interest reached a new level of urgency when news broke that he put USAID security heads on administrative leave so he could access classified government information without interference. He also managed to access federal pay systems that manage the flow of trillions of dollars and include the private information of millions of Americans. A private citizen gaining access to sensitive and private government information is unprecedented and likely illegal. Unfortunately, the Trump administration has offered little assurance that it will monitor his actions and conflicts of interest.
White House says Elon Musk will self-police in DOGE role
The issue of Musk’s conflicts of interest arose during a recent press conference hosted by Leavitt. At the briefing, a reporter asked, “Elon Musk is currently a ‘special government employee,’ who also owns companies that have billions of dollars in federal contracts. You said earlier this week that he has abided by all applicable federal laws, but what steps is the Trump administration taking to address that conflict of interest?” Leavitt responded that Trump had already answered the question and stipulated, “If Elon Musk comes across a conflict of interest with the contracts and the funding that DOGE is overseeing, then Elon will excuse himself from those contracts.” She concluded by insisting he had abided by all laws in his doings.
Republicans against Trump expressed skepticism for the administration’s approach to Musk’s conflicts of interest, sarcastically calling it “so reassuring.” Aaron Parnas explained that what Leavitt was basically saying was, “Elon Musk will be the one determining whether Elon Musk has any conflicts of interest with the federal government.” It doesn’t sound particularly logical. After all, it makes two relatively large assumptions. First, it assumes that Musk can identify his own conflicts of interest, even though it’s possible for people not to realize their own conflicts of interest and biases. Conflicts of interest are dangerous precisely because they deeply impact someone’s ability to make objective decisions and sound judgment. So, it’s quite risky to merely assume someone can clearly and objectively identify their conflicts of interest.
Second, the administration assumes it can trust Musk to excuse himself if he identifies these conflicts of interest. Anyone familiar with the system of checks and balances knows the government doesn’t assume that every official will do as they’re supposed to. Rather than risk someone abusing their power, the government takes precautions to prevent such a situation from surfacing. The same should apply to Musk. If there is a risk of conflicts of interest, there should be measures to mitigate the risks, not just a flimsy system of pure trust.
Leavitt’s statement raises concerns about what will happen with Musk’s conflicts of interest now that control has been handed over to the potentially compromised individual. If someone points out an apparent conflict of interest Musk has, is the White House really giving Musk the power to contest that claim and be the final authority on the matter? It doesn’t matter how competent or trustworthy the Trump administration believes Musk is. Someone given a “special” government position and entrusted with sensitive government information requires some level of supervision, especially on the complicated matter of conflicts of interest.
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