Some ethics experts raise concerns over Musk and Ramaswamy's Department of Government Efficiency roles
President-elect Donald Trump's announcement Tuesday that tech billionaire Elon Musk and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a newly formed advisory Department of Government Efficiency has alarmed some government ethics experts, who say the pair's deep financial interests could lead to potential conflicts of interest.
Some ethics experts are particularly alarmed that Musk and Ramaswamy's roles have been described as "outside of government" -- an arrangement that could potentially mean they would not be subject to normal financial disclosure rules, despite the major impact their work could have on the federal government.
"Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies," Trump said of Musk and Ramaswamy, both of whom were vocal supporters of Trump's reelection campaign.
As outside governmental advisers, Musk -- who owns Tesla, X and SpaceX -- and Ramaswamy -- who founded the biotech firm Roivant Sciences -- might not be subject to federal requirements mandating that officials disclose their financial interests to the Office of Government Ethics.
Certain categories of advisers from outside the government can be required to disclose their interests under the Federal Advisory Committee Act -- including if they are classified as a "Special Government Employee" -- but ethics experts say that not enough is known about the proposed department to know if they would be covered under that act.
Musk has promised transparency, posting on X shortly after the announcement, "All actions of the Department of Government Efficiency will be posted online for maximum transparency."
"The transition team will ensure the Department of Government Efficiency and those involved with it are compliant with all legal guidelines related to conflicts of interest," Trump transition spokesperson Brian Hughes told ABC News.
Kedric Payne, senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center, told ABC News that the possibility that Musk and Ramaswamy would not have financial disclosure obligations is alarming because their work cutting government regulations or spending could directly impact their business interests without the public knowing.
"It could be simply an attempt to stop the regulations on their business interest at the expense of government workers and the public," said Payne, who added that they could also be in a position to get more government contracts for their businesses.
"If you eliminate the government from doing certain tasks, then those tasks can go to government contracts for consultants," Payne said.
Payne also stressed the highly unusual nature of Musk and Ramaswamy's proposed roles as outside advisers with significant influence.
"It's extremely rare to do it like this," he said. "It is common to have outside experts give advice to the government ... where it might just be a meeting, or something that's over a period of time. But to have a situation where we have outside entrepreneurs with business interests, possibly changing how they are regulated, and having this much power, that's not common."
Payne also said called for transparency regarding who else would be working with Musk and Ramaswamy in the new department, saying their interests would need to be made public as well.
Noah Bookbinder, the president of Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington, echoed some of Payne's concerns about potential conflicts of interest given Musk and Ramaswamy's business interests, while emphasizing that more details are necessary to determine whether there would be any violation of federal ethics laws.
"We don't yet know enough about how these positions will operate to know whether there will, in fact, be conflicts of interest and what those conflicts will be," Bookbinder said. "If Musk and Ramaswamy are in a position where they can influence governmental decisions and if some of those decisions could impact their businesses, then there could be a danger of illegal conflicts of interest. Other laws and rules could also be at issue today depending on what they do and how this 'Department' works."
Bookbinder also floated the possibility that others in government could feel pressed to look favorably on Musk's interests given his significant influence over Trump, which sources tell ABC News has recently seen Musk offering input on Trump's staffing decisions and playing a significant role in shaping the future Trump administration.
