Sen. Warren Presses Trump to Resolve Musk’s ‘Conflicts of Interest’

President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk (L) arrive to attend a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket in Brownsville, Texas, on Nov. 19, 2024. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is asking President-elect Donald Trump to clarify the ethics standards that will apply to Elon Musk, given the tech billionaire’s prominent role on the Trump transition team.

Musk has been a fixture at the president-elect’s side since the November election and will lead the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, alongside fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Warren says that the new role, combined with Musk’s private interests as the CEO of SpaceX, Tesla, and other government-contracted companies, presents “a massive conflict of interest.”

“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,” the senator wrote in a Dec. 16 letter to Trump.

SpaceX, Musk’s space technology company, manufactures rockets and spacecraft, often for the federal government’s use. Tesla, meanwhile, inked a deal with the Biden administration to make at least 7,500 of its electric vehicle charging stations accessible to EVs from other carmakers by the end of 2024.

Warren further pointed out that Musk’s companies have an interest in the government’s enforcement of labor laws and regulations, particularly after having been the subject of federal investigations and litigation.

Notably, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission demanded a settlement payment from Musk last week to avoid charges related to his acquisition of Twitter, which he renamed X. The agency has also reopened a probe into Neuralink, Musk’s neurotechnology company.

Warren also voiced concern over media reports that Musk met secretly with Iran’s U.N. ambassador and participated in a call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“Federal law contains ethics rules for government employees that are specifically designed to protect the public from dangerous conflicts of interest and ensure government employees are working on behalf of the public interest rather than twisting government policy to line their own pockets,” the senator wrote.

“As a member of the transition team, Mr. Musk is not a federal employee, but the conflicts he faces are enormous, and the need for him to be subject to similar ethics standards is obvious.”

The Trump team’s ethics pledge requires members to disqualify themselves from transition matters in which they may have a direct financial conflict.

Referencing that pledge in her letter, Warren asked if Musk had signed and complied with that standard. She asked the president-elect to respond by Dec. 23.

In a statement provided to The Epoch Times, Trump–Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt waved off the senator’s concerns.

“President Trump has assembled the most impressive and qualified team of innovators, entrepreneurs, and geniuses to advise and staff our government,” Leavitt said.

She added: The Trump–Vance transition will continue to be held to the highest ethical and legal standards possible.”

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.