While concerns were already swirling about Elon Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration, the first potential conflict of interest has emerged.
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (which he runs with Vivek Ramaswamy) on Thursday invited “small government revolutionaries with extremely high IQs who are willing to work 80-plus hours a week for unattractive cost-cutting.” Although this job may seem attractive (oh, it seems unpaid, too), the potential conflict comes in the instructions on how to apply.
Prospective applicants are directed to send their resume to the DOGE account on X via direct message. Under the changes Musk made to that platform, only premium subscribers will be able to send direct messages to the DOGE account. Their prices range from $8 to $16 per month.
In other words: To be considered for a role in the department (and the site said only the top 1% of resumes will be reviewed by Musk and Ramaswamy), applicants will have to make a financial contribution to one of Musk’s businesses.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, of course. For example, Musk also runs SpaceX, which has contracts with the federal government.
While Musk said: “All government efficiency management procedures will be published online for maximum transparency,” it is unclear whether its leaders will have to file financial disclosures. The possibility that one or both of them might escape government regulations that affect their actions worries ethicists.
“If Musk and Ramaswamy are in a position where they can influence government decisions and if some of those decisions could impact their businesses, there may be a risk of an unlawful conflict of interest,” Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsible Ethics. He told ABC News. “There may also be other laws and rules at issue today depending on what they do and how this ‘department’ operates.”
Representatives for X and the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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