There's No Way Elon Musk's Job is Legal
"Checks and balances, at the moment, seem to be neutralized."
Pema Levy
"There's probably no person on the planet who has more varied business interests before the US government than Elon Musk," says Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy nonprofit, "and therefore, no person who would be more conflicted and less appropriate to have the role he has than Elon Musk."
Musk, as far as we know, doesn't even have a job title. It took two weeks for the administration to even confirm that he is employed, saying that he has been categorized as a special government employee. This is a category of federal employee, generally a consultant or expert, hired on a temporary basis. They typically have fewer ethical limitations and disclosure requirements than full government employees, but Musk is still subject to criminal laws regarding bribery and gratuities, as well as laws restricting gifts to superiors and from inferior employees.
"The way it's supposed to happen under normal circumstances is a special government employee would provide a list of all his financial interests to an ethics official within the agency, as well as the Office of Government Ethics, and then they could point out and also monitor any potential conflicts of interest," says Kedric Payne, an expert in government ethics at the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center. "Then you would also expect that special government employee to get pre-approval before there were any meetings or decisions that even gave the appearance that it may be a conflict of interest."
If that's the normal course of action, we are in the upside down. Not only does there appear to be no compliance mechanism in effect, but President Donald Trump has removed the ethics officials who could police Musk's work. Not only did Trump fire the head of the Office of Government Ethics, 17 inspectors general have been axes (plus another who later crossed Musk) along with the head of the Office of Special Counsel, which investigates whistleblower complaints. In their place, Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said, Musk will police himself: "If Elon Musk comes across a conflict of interest with the contracts and the funding that DOGE is overseeing, that Elon will excuse himself from those contracts, and he has again abided by all applicable laws."
Last Monday, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) sent a letter to Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, as well as the director of the Office of Government Ethics, asking whether and how Musk is complying with applicable criminal conflict of interest laws. The director of the ethics office was fired later that day. Schiff's office says it has received no update.
"I don't see a legal way for Musk to lead DOGE in the way that it's been described and stay in compliance with the ethics rules," says Payne. If Musk were to follow the law, he would be a distant boss, unable to weigh in on the panoply of agencies investigating him, contracting with him, or regulating him, in addition to any other conflicts that are not currently public. Musk clearly has not taken that route.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/elon-musk-doge-special-government-employee/
"Checks and balances, at the moment, seem to be neutralized."
Pema Levy
"There's probably no person on the planet who has more varied business interests before the US government than Elon Musk," says Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy nonprofit, "and therefore, no person who would be more conflicted and less appropriate to have the role he has than Elon Musk."
Musk, as far as we know, doesn't even have a job title. It took two weeks for the administration to even confirm that he is employed, saying that he has been categorized as a special government employee. This is a category of federal employee, generally a consultant or expert, hired on a temporary basis. They typically have fewer ethical limitations and disclosure requirements than full government employees, but Musk is still subject to criminal laws regarding bribery and gratuities, as well as laws restricting gifts to superiors and from inferior employees.
"The way it's supposed to happen under normal circumstances is a special government employee would provide a list of all his financial interests to an ethics official within the agency, as well as the Office of Government Ethics, and then they could point out and also monitor any potential conflicts of interest," says Kedric Payne, an expert in government ethics at the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center. "Then you would also expect that special government employee to get pre-approval before there were any meetings or decisions that even gave the appearance that it may be a conflict of interest."
If that's the normal course of action, we are in the upside down. Not only does there appear to be no compliance mechanism in effect, but President Donald Trump has removed the ethics officials who could police Musk's work. Not only did Trump fire the head of the Office of Government Ethics, 17 inspectors general have been axes (plus another who later crossed Musk) along with the head of the Office of Special Counsel, which investigates whistleblower complaints. In their place, Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said, Musk will police himself: "If Elon Musk comes across a conflict of interest with the contracts and the funding that DOGE is overseeing, that Elon will excuse himself from those contracts, and he has again abided by all applicable laws."
Last Monday, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) sent a letter to Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, as well as the director of the Office of Government Ethics, asking whether and how Musk is complying with applicable criminal conflict of interest laws. The director of the ethics office was fired later that day. Schiff's office says it has received no update.
"I don't see a legal way for Musk to lead DOGE in the way that it's been described and stay in compliance with the ethics rules," says Payne. If Musk were to follow the law, he would be a distant boss, unable to weigh in on the panoply of agencies investigating him, contracting with him, or regulating him, in addition to any other conflicts that are not currently public. Musk clearly has not taken that route.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/elon-musk-doge-special-government-employee/
