How the White House is handling Elon Musk and potential conflicts of interest
As the public face of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk has an expansive portfolio that spans across the many levers of government — and that could intersect with his wide range of business interests.
As the public face of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk has an expansive portfolio that spans across the many levers of government — and that could intersect with his wide range of business interests.
But unlike another high-profile “special government employee” working in Trump’s White House, AI and crypto czar David Sacks, there’s no evidence that Musk has obtained a conflict of interest waiver. Such a waiver would outline the steps he’s taken to avoid overlaps between his business interests and his government work, include an explanation from the White House counsel about why they feel comfortable with Musk’s arrangement, and it would identify areas where Musk has the green light to weigh in despite his business holdings.
Instead, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC News that Musk has already pledged he’d avoid potential conflicts of interest and like all Trump-appointed “special government employees,” he’s “abiding by all applicable laws.”
“For concerns regarding conflicts of interest between Elon Musk and DOGE, President Trump has stated he will not allow conflicts, and Elon himself has committed to recusing himself from potential conflicts. DOGE has been incredibly transparent about what they’re doing, posting daily updates on X and updating their website,” Leavitt said in a statement to NBC News.
“It’s standard practice for Administrations to hire individuals as Special Government Employees to focus on specific issues, based on their outside experience, for a limited period of time,” Leavitt continued, adding, “All SGEs are filling out the appropriate paperwork, receiving briefings on ethics rules, including the conflict of interest rules, and abiding by all applicable federal laws.”
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