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Karoline Leavitt Explains That Elon Musk Will Police Himself on Conflicts of Interest at DOGE: ‘Elon Will Excuse Himself’ [1]
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Date: 2025-02-05 19:44:31+00:00
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt explained that Elon Musk — the world’s richest man and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — is in charge of excusing himself when he comes across conflicts of interest pertaining to his businesses during the White House press briefing on Wednesday.
Leavitt’s answer came after a reporter observed that “Elon Musk is currently a quote, ‘special government employee’ who also owns companies that have billions of dollars in federal contracts.”
“You said earlier this week that he has abided by all applicable federal laws, but what steps is the Trump administration taking to address that conflict of interest?” he asked.
“The president was already asked and answered this question this week, and he said 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,” answered Leavitt. “And he has again abided by all applicable laws.
“Elon can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval, and we’ll give him the approval where appropriate; where not appropriate, we won’t,” said Trump on Monday. “He reports in. … But he does have a good natural instinct.”
Musk, who supported and donated a large amount of money to Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign has taken on a hyperactive role in the administration, leading critics to argue that he has overstepped his authority.
According to NBC News, Musk’s status as a special government employee insulates him from charges of wrongdoing since those with that designation ” are asked to abide by conflict-of-interest requirements and ethics policies that are typically less onerous than they are for federal employees” and “as temporary positions, they bypass some of the disclosure obligations required of full-time roles.”
Watch above via Fox News.
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[1] Url:
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/karoline-leavitt-explains-that-elon-musk-will-self-police-himself-on-conflicts-of-interest-and-doge-elon-will-excuse-himself/
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