'Corrupt' Trump official used new access for personal gain 100 times in first 5 months: report

Eloise Goldsmith, Common Dreams
04 June
President Donald Trump holds a Cabinet meeting, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in the Cabinet Room. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Democrat from Massachusetts, on Tuesday released a report chronicling over 100 examples of "unethical or potentially corrupt actions" that either benefit billionaire Elon Musk or one of his companies and which took place while Musk played a key role in the Trump administration.

According to the report, the past few months have been very profitable for Musk, who officially departed the White House last week. "Since Election Day, Musk's staggering net worth has increased by over $100 billion," the report states.

After spending some $290 million to help elect U.S. President Donald Trump and other Republicans last fall, Musk was tapped by Trump to lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, a body tasked with slashing government personnel and spending. DOGE's sweep of government has led, for example, to the hollowing out of the U.S. Agency for International Development and contract cuts at many other agencies.

Last week, Musk announced that he is departing the White House, just ahead of an official May 30 deadline for his departure as a special government employee. That designation allowed the world's richest man to play a key role in the Trump White House without facing Senate confirmation.

During that time, Musk "maintained extensive financial conflicts of interest through his ownership or stake" in several companies, including the electric vehicle company Tesla and his aerospace firm SpaceX, per the report, which was first written up by Rolling Stone.

According to the report, "not every action listed below represents a violation of federal law. In many cases, Musk has violated norms at an astonishing pace." However, "in other cases, Musk has engaged in action that may have violated the statutory prohibition regarding federal employees; participation in particular matters in which a government official has a financial interest, laws against bribery and gratuities, or the regulations prohibiting use of one's government position for private gain."

The report, titled Special Interests Over the Public Interest: Elon Musk's 130 Days in the Trump Administration, sorts the listed actions into 15 main categories, such as "official government time and resources [that] have been spent promoting Musk's businesses." In that first category, the report gives the example of the time that Trump turned the White House lawn into a Tesla showroom.

In a category titled "Musk's parochial interests over the public interest," the report highlights how Musk has appeared to influence Trump's actions toward South Africa, Musk's country of birth.

Musk has been critical of a law passed in South Africa earlier this year, which allows the government to seize land under set circumstances. The law is meant to help rectify the economic exclusion that Black South Africans faced during apartheid. In February, Trump issued an executive order freezing aid to South Africa over the law.

The report also details federal government contracts that Musk's various ventures have either secured or are being considered for. For example, in February, NASA chose SpaceX to provide launch services for a space telescope, a contract worth $100 million. SpaceX is also reportedly being considered to construct part of Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defense shield.

Warren's report also gives instances in which "largely guided by Musk's DOGE, the Trump administration has hamstrung the agencies overseeing Musk's companies, gutting their staff, throwing sand in the gears of their operations, and embedding DOGE staff loyal to Musk." The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in particular has been a target of DOGE.

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