Former White House ethics chief Norm Eisen has raised serious concerns about potential conflicts of interest between President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, who was recently appointed as a “special government employee” to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Musk, who contributed over $250 million to Trump’s 2024 reelection campaign, has been granted sweeping powers to restructure federal agencies and reduce public spending through DOGE. Meanwhile, his companies Tesla and SpaceX have secured approximately $13 billion in federal contracts over the past five years, including significant deals with the Department of Defense and NASA.
“The ethics laws are there to protect against conflicts,” Eisen told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “So, people who are working for the government are serving the public interest, not their own interest. Elon Musk is slashing staff in agencies that are investigating him.”
Recent investigations have revealed that DOGE has been granted unprecedented access to various payment and information systems, raising privacy concerns among ethics experts. The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed fining SpaceX for licensing violations and is investigating the company for safety issues, even as Musk pushes for the elimination of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which oversees digital payment systems like the one he plans to launch for his X platform.
The situation has prompted legal challenges from multiple directions. Fourteen state attorneys general, led by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, have filed a lawsuit alleging that Trump violated the Constitution by creating DOGE without congressional approval and by granting Musk extensive authority without Senate confirmation.
A separate lawsuit filed by 26 current and former USAID employees claims that Musk’s actions have disrupted crucial foreign aid initiatives and compromised agency operations. The legal challenge asserts that employees have lost email access, faced unreimbursed expenses, and been unable to complete essential reports and audits.
Eisen expressed concern about the lack of transparency regarding Musk’s financial disclosures and questioned the arrangements for handling potential conflicts of interest, including whether any waivers had been issued or recusals implemented.
The controversy comes in the wake of Trump’s recent conviction on 34 criminal charges related to falsifying business documents in Manhattan, New York. Despite the guilty verdict, Trump received an unconditional discharge in January 2025.
“You have a criminal president, 34 convictions,” Eisen declared. “No wonder he’s happy with Elon Musk. They’re violating the law right and left! And it’s a lie by the president that he always abides by court orders. I was in that courtroom in New York.”
The Trump administration’s attempts to address these concerns by stating Musk would recuse himself from potential conflicts have been met with skepticism. Government investigations into Musk’s companies have stalled amid Trump’s dismissal of top officials and Biden administration resignations, leaving Republican appointees overseeing the lawsuits and investigations.
Musk has defended his role, characterizing federal bureaucracy as being filled with unelected individuals who he claims are enriching themselves at taxpayer expense. During a recent Oval Office press conference, he maintained that his approach to government reform represents “what democracy is all about,” though he acknowledged that some of his claims about government waste may be incorrect.
The White House maintains it trusts Musk is following the law, despite mounting concerns from ethics lawyers about potential criminal conflicts of interest. The full scope of these conflicts remains unknown, as Musk has not publicly released his financial disclosures, even as his Department continues to access sensitive government data and implement sweeping changes across federal agencies.
