Elon Musk, despite his significant influence on the federal government through his role in the Department of Government Efficiency task force, will not be filing a publicly available financial disclosure report. His disclosure will be confidential, raising concerns among good government nonprofits and watchdog groups about potential conflicts of interest and lack of transparency.
Elon Musk , the world's wealthiest individual, whose companies hold contracts with and have vested interests in the federal government, will not be filing a publicly available financial disclosure report. Instead, Musk's required financial disclosure, as a designated special government employee, will remain confidential, according to a White House official speaking on condition of anonymity.
Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency task force have been implementing sweeping changes and forcing cuts across government agencies, drawing praise from supporters of President Trump and criticism from others. \'As an unpaid special government employee who is not a commissioned officer, Elon will file a confidential financial disclosure report,' the White House official stated. 'He was also provided an ethics briefing this week and other DOGE staff will/have received the same treatment.' \High-ranking government officials, including cabinet nominees, top White House officials, and designated special government employees, are obligated by the Ethics in Government Act to submit financial disclosures and, often, ethics agreements. These documents aim to shed light on any potential conflicts of interest, or even the semblance of them. Filers are required to disclose all substantial assets, including investments like mutual funds and stocks, as well as income and debt, and foreign investments. For instance, the financial disclosure for FBI director nominee Kash Patel revealed he was consulting for the Embassy of Qatar as recently as November, the same month Mr. Trump appointed him to lead the FBI. Special government employees — the designation the Trump administration has given Musk as a temporary worker — must file a financial disclosure as long as they work for the federal government for at least 60 days. According to the Office of Government Ethics, which maintains records of these filings and offers guidance to filers, special government employees 'paid under a system other than the general schedule' and 'have a rate of basic pay equal to or greater than 120% of the minimum rate of basic pay for GS-15' are required to file public disclosures. This gives the administration a possible, but unclear, loophole, since Musk is not accepting a government salary. Musk's businesses include SpaceX, Tesla, X (formerly known as Twitter), The Boring Company, Neuralink, and xAI, some of which conduct business with foreign countries. Tesla, for example, operates in China. Musk's net worth stands just shy of $400 billion as of this month, according to Forbes. The fact that Musk's financial interests will not be disclosed is a concern for good government non-profits because it is difficult to determine whether any actions he takes or promotes benefit him personally. \'While filing a confidential disclosure may be correct legally, it is not what is appropriate here. With the level of influence over the federal government that Musk appears to have, the American public has a right to know what his business interests and potential conflicts of interest are,' said Jordan Libowitz, vice president of communications for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW. 'He has spoken in the past of a need for a more transparent government. We agree. This isn't that.' In December, Musk took to his platform, X, to say he does not believe Americans should have to file Freedom of Information Act requests because such information should already be public. 'There should be no need for FOIA requests,' Musk wrote. 'All government data should be default public for maximum transparency.' Scott Amey, general counsel for the Project on Government Oversight, stated it is 'concerning that the White House isn't saying we have nothing to hide and Musk's financial disclosure report will be released.' 'The public and agencies deserve a full understanding of Musk's financial interests in order to prevent conflicts when he storms into agencies,' Amey said. 'Just because he is unpaid does not mean he won't have significant influence in this administration, and be involved in decisions that touch on his personal and private interests, including federal contracts and regulatory issues.' \The White House official who confirmed Musk's financial disclosure will be confidential also stated that Musk possesses a 'TS' clearance, meaning top secret, the highest level of access to information apart from 'TS/SCI,' which means top clearance for sensitive compartmentalized information. In a press conference Friday, a reporter asked Mr. Trump why DOGE needs access to Americans' personal information, like bank accounts and Social Security numbers. Consumer advocates and Democratic lawmakers are raising concerns about DOGE gaining access to the Treasury Department's payment system, and taxpayers' Social Security numbers. 'Well it doesn't, but they get it very easily, I mean we don't have very good security in our country,' the president responded.
ELON MUSK DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
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