Musk may be framed by the law of conflicts

Tesla mogul and Vivek Ramaswamy under scrutiny due to potential conflicts of interest in DOGE, the new department of Donald Trump’s presidency.

The newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, allegedly aims to reduce the State’s costs, but raises obvious questions about conflicts of interest.

The two businessmen have strong financial ties with public fundswhich subjects them to North American legislation that regulates transparency and ethics in public administration.

Experts highlight that both companies, such as Tesla and SpaceX, which belong to Musk, the richest man in the world, benefit from grants, financing and support from the federal government. Therefore, any decision involving the allocation of funds or tax benefits to these companies can be seen as a conflict of interest.

Applicable legislation, the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), criminalizes such situationswith the Department of Justice responsible for investigating and prosecuting irregularities.

Although DOGE is described as an entity dedicated to efficiency, its true nature is still uncertain. It is at least known that it names — and advertises — Musk’s Dogecoin cryptocurrency.

If it only acts as a consultative body, the risk of conflicts of interest decreases, but if it has executive functions, such as resource or budget management, the scenario becomes more complicated.

“There are direct conflicts between their companies and the government’s interests,” said Ann Skeet, director of leadership ethics at Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center. “He is now in a position where he can try to obtain favors for these companies”, according to the AP agency.

“If it’s a commission, it’s outside the government” and Musk cannot have a White House office or an official government title, explains Richard Painter, a White House ethics lawyer during the George W. Bush administration. “Then the president accepts the advice or not.” If it were a true government agency, however, Musk would run afoul of federal conflict of interest laws unless he divested from his businesses or refused to participate in government matters involving them.

Musk will maintain his functions at Tesla, indicating that his participation in DOGE should be of an advisory nature. But even in this scenario, a strict regime for managing conflicts of interest and transparency will be necessary.