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Democrats are raising alarms that the Trump administration is eliminating government watchdogs and allowing White House adviser Elon Musk to blatantly enter into potential conflicts of interest through his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) spending cuts operation.
On Monday, Senator Adam Schiff of California sent a letter to the White House Office of Government Ethics, arguing that Musk, as a government employee, is now “subject to the federal criminal conflict of interest statute” and warning that Musk “may seek to use his new position to shield his companies from federal scrutiny.”
Later that day, the White House removed David Huitema, the head of the ethics office.
The warning from Schiff is just the latest sign of concern over Musk’s unprecedented role within the government as both a White House employee and a businessman with billions of dollars in federal contracts and potential regulation costs on the line.
He is also in a position to lob accusations at rival businesses holding government contracts with engaging in “fraudulent” activities to eliminate his competition. Musk has claimed that he has discovered, in mere days, wide-ranging fraud in a number of agencies, but has yet to provide any evidence.
Musk’s companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, have reportedly obtained at least $15.4 billion in government contracts in recent years, and his portfolio of companies, ranging from space to social media to transportation, are frequently in contact with federal regulators.
The administration’s push to rapidly slash funding and shutter agencies it deems unaligned with its objectives has had direct impacts on bodies that are already or could one day investigate Musk’s businesses.
For example, Trump’s executive order shutting down the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which investigates equal employment claims for federal contractors, may mean the office never releases the results of what was an ongoing probe into Tesla, the San Francisco Standard reports.
The office sent a letter to Tesla last week informing the company it had ceased its review of the company and of a factory in Fremont, California, that has been the subject of numerous allegations of racism.
The Trump administration also removed multiple commissioners from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which has an ongoing case against Tesla for alleged “widespread and ongoing racial harassment of its Black employees,” leaving the commission without a full quorum for official business.
Last month, the White House removed scores of inspectors general across federal agencies, including at agencies looking into Musk’s companies.
Among those removed was the internal watchdog at the Department of Transportation, whose National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is probing Tesla, and the Defense Department, whose inspector general began probing alleged failures at SpaceX to meet national security reporting requirements and disclose meetings with foreign leaders.
Meanwhile, The U.S. Agency for International Development, which Trump and Musk have attempted to fully shut down, told Congress last year that its inspector general was investigating the use of Starlink terminals during the Ukraine-Russia war.
And the administration is now looking to shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which would regulate Musk’s X if he follows through on a long-stated goal to turn it into an “everything app” that handles payments and other financial services.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
The administration has consistently said it will make sure Musk avoids conflicts of interest.
“If Elon Musk comes across a conflict of interest with the contracts and the funding that DOGE is overseeing, then Elon will excuse himself from those contracts,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted recently.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, meanwhile, has said his agency won’t interfere with probes into Tesla.
And the president himself has batted down criticism.
“He’s not gaining anything from this,” Trump said this weekend. “In fact, I wonder how he can devote the time to it. He’s so into it.”
