Sen. Elizabeth Warren Calls for Stronger Ethics Rules to Bind Musk, Prevent Conflict-of-Interest

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has written a letter to President-elect Donald Trump, calling for a “stringent conflict of interest agreement” to restrain Elon Musk in his advisory role in the Trump transition team.

The Washington Post reports that Warren’s letter, sent via email, expresses deep concerns about Musk’s role in helping Trump cut government waste and federal spending by leading the advisory council Dept. of Government Efficiency (DOGE) .

Warren’s letter states:

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. As your Transition Team Ethics Plan makes clear, the role of government is not to line the pockets of the wealthiest Americans; a strong, enforceable ethics plan for the world’s richest man is a necessary first step for delivering on that promise.

Mark Paoletta, who previously served as an attorney in the Trump and Bush (41) administrations, was quick to call out Warren’s hypocrisy regarding conflicts of interest in light of the fact that Congress has no such laws that apply to them.

Paoletta insists that Trump and his transition team will act ethically, unlike President Biden who used his public office throughout his career to secure tens of millions of dollars for his family and then sought to cover his tracks by giving his son Hunter the most comprehensive and corrupt pardon in U.S. history.

Don’t let them gaslight you, @elonmusk. It’s outrageous that @SenWarren would be raising conflict of interest issues when Congress has NO conflict of interest laws that apply to them. Only branch that does not have such laws. For example, @SenWhitehouse routinely takes official… https://t.co/cNnjiip4vI

— Mark Paoletta (@MarkPaoletta) December 17, 2024

Trump transition team spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt was even more blunt in her response to Warren’s letter, saying, “President Trump has assembled the most impressive and qualified team of innovators, entrepreneurs, and geniuses to advise and staff our government.”

Leavitt added, “Pocahontas can play political games and send toothless letters, but the Trump-Vance transition will continue to be held to the highest ethical and legal standards possible — a standard unfamiliar to a career politician whose societal impact is 1/1024th of Elon Musk’s.”