“Unofficial Co-President”
US Senator writes incendiary letter to Trump – because of Elon Musk
12/18/2024 – 5:01 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
Democrat Elizabeth Warren is known as a harsh critic of large corporations. The senator finds the political alliance between Elon Musk and Donald Trump highly problematic.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has called for more transparency from Donald Trump about the role of controversial tech billionaire Elon Musk in his future administration. Warren wrote an incendiary letter to the president-elect.
In the letter, the senator criticized Musk for taking on the role of an “unofficial co-president.” The multi-billionaire has taken on a position as a central figure in Trump’s environment over the past few months. However, Musk is “not an ordinary citizen” – the government’s handling of labor laws, environmental regulations and safety regulations directly affects his companies.
The Republican Trump has commissioned the extremely wealthy businessman to work with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in a newly created committee called DOGE (“Department of Government Efficiency”) to develop proposals for cutting government spending. Although the committee is not officially part of the government, it is close to it in terms of its task description.
Musk leads several influential companies, including the electric car manufacturer Tesla, the space company SpaceX and the online platform
Warren sees a “massive conflict of interest” in the planned constellation with Musk as government advisor. She criticized that the American public currently has no way of knowing “whether the advice he’s secretly whispering to (Trump) is good for the country – or just good for his own profit.”
The Democrat explained that it is clear that similar ethical standards must apply to Musk as to members of the government – without a “strict agreement” Musk’s responsibility is an “invitation to corruption on a scale that we have never seen in our lifetime.” .
In the US, ministers and advisers with direct decision-making power are usually subject to strict rules, such as requiring assets to be placed in the care of independent trustees.
Warren asked Trump to answer a list of questions about the details of Musk’s cooperation with the government by December 23rd. The senator is known for her critical stance towards large corporations and business elites. It is questionable whether she will be successful with her plan. Musk himself quickly made it clear what he thought of the criticism: On X he mocked the senator.
