Trump eyes plan that may give Elon Musk role in auditing U.S. agencies

On several occasions, including on X, the social media platform he owns, the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive has expressed interest in being part of a “government efficiency commission” aimed at eliminating wasteful regulations and spending. Musk in August posted an apparently artificial intelligence-generated image of himself behind a lectern labeled “Department of Government Efficiency,” with the acronym DOGE — a meme-based cryptocurrency Musk has previously embraced.

Musk’s potential involvement in a government regulatory and spending commission has sparked concerns from ethics experts who point to conflicts of interest that could emerge between such a post and his business empire. But Trump advisers are eager to bring in prominent corporate leaders to compile a high-profile list of federal excess, reprising efforts similar to those led by President Ronald Reagan and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who once published an annual “Waste Book” on allegedly frivolous spending.

Trump last week downplayed the idea that Musk would join his Cabinet — but also said Musk might be a helpful consultant to the federal government.

“He wants to be involved, but look, he’s running big businesses and all that … so he can’t really” be in the Cabinet, Trump said on the Shawn Ryan Show. “He can sort of, as the expression goes, consult with the country and give you some very good ideas.”

Musk did not respond to a request for comment.

Musk has increasingly used X as a megaphone to support Trump and bash his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. But as the two billionaires have moved into a closer political alliance, scrutiny is mounting over the potential financial benefits a potential second Trump administration could deliver to Musk.

After favoring Joe Biden in 2020, Musk has now fully embraced Trump. He helped create a SuperPAC, America PAC, in support of the Republican candidate, which has raised at least $8.7 million from wealthy donors — including former Tesla board member Antonio Gracias, Palantir co-founder and Austin-based tech investor Joe Lonsdale, and Sequoia Capital investor Shaun Maguire — as of June 30, the most recent date for which public filings are available.

Although Tesla has benefited from Biden’s electric vehicle subsidies, Musk’s companies have also faced greater regulatory scrutiny than they did under Trump’s administration, as the White House has embarked upon more pro-union policies and a crackdown on alleged corporate malfeasance.

Over the past few years, for example, the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have advanced investigations into Tesla’s marketing of its driver-assistance technologies. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a recall of almost every Tesla after a widespread investigation concluded that the company had done too little to ensure that drivers pay attention to the road while using its Autopilot driver-assistance system.

Meanwhile, the SEC has opened a separate investigation into X, formerly Twitter, which Musk purchased in 2022, and the National Labor Relations Board is investigating allegations of harassment at SpaceX. Both SpaceX and Starlink, Musk’s satellite business, would likely benefit from fresh federal contracts, as the GOP platform calls for increased satellite investment and accelerating space exploration toward Mars.

Musk has also praised Trump’s desire to do away with EV tax credits, even as he acknowledged such a policy could hurt his company in the short term. The billionaire, who has called for the removal of subsidies “from all industries,” said canceling those incentives would be “devastating for our competitors” and only “hurt Tesla slightly.”

Trump has previously railed against electric vehicles, but has been vocal about how Musk’s support has influenced his view: “I’m for electric cars,” Trump said at a rally last month. “I have to be because Elon endorsed me very strongly.”

Some Trump advisers downplayed how much clout Musk would have in a second administration. Among the other names that could be considered for the commission are Fred Smith, the former CEO of FedEx, and Robert Nardelli, the former CEO of Home Depot, said two people familiar with the idea, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Musk’s businesses are closely intertwined with federal spending already.

Tesla has been paid $36 million in federal funds to install at least 328 EV charging plugs, according to policy and data research firm Atlas Public Policy. SpaceX won a NASA contract in 2021 worth up to $4.4 billion to build a human landing system for the Artemis moon missions. The company has already received $2.2 billion under the agreement in taxpayer money.

“It raises questions that the commission’s focus is on saving taxpayer dollars, but you have someone potentially involved whose company is one of the biggest recipients of federal spending,” said Anna Massoglia, a money in politics expert at the nonprofit organization OpenSecrets. “Cracking down on government waste and abuse is important, but we also need to have accountability mechanisms so private sector actors involved in this kind of program can’t manipulate it for personal gain.”

Samuel Hammond, a policy expert at the center-right Foundation for American Innovation, pointed out that Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris also has numerous large Silicon Valley boosters and other donors with extensive business in front of the federal government.

“Do Kamala Harris backers want to get subsidies for clean energy projects?” Hammond said. “In the case of Musk, I think his main demand is to be left alone.”

Trump’s interest in the commission is partly a response to a political and substantive problem facing his campaign — the GOP presidential nominee’s plans might inflate the national debt. He has pushed several trillions of dollars in additional tax cuts for his second term, and proposed nowhere near that amount in new revenue.

Trump has for months expressed interest in establishing a “blue ribbon” commission of top executives to eliminate wasteful federal spending, said Steve Moore, who pitched the former president on the idea. Moore said the plan was modeled after the Grace Commission, a Reagan-era panel that recommended billions of dollars in spending cuts. Most of its recommendations were never implemented, but they helped provide rhetorical fuel to anti-spending arguments by conservatives.

“It should be a high priority. We have a lot of spending and waste to cut if we’re going to extend the Trump tax cuts or do these other things he wants to do,” Moore said. “You’ll have to find redundancies and inefficiencies and obsolescence, but the good news is we haven’t done this in a couple decades.”

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Art Laffer — who have sometimes advised Trump on economic policy — strongly favor the plan, they said in interviews. Nonpartisan budget hawks also expressed support for the idea.

Moore said he was unsure if Musk would be interested in chairing the commission, but said he would be “absolutely perfect to run it.”

Some critics, however, say this effort could amount to a mostly symbolic attempt to arrest government spending. Increased costs for Social Security and Medicare are the primary drivers of the nation’s long-term fiscal imbalance, and many budget experts are skeptical that such a commission — which would still need approval in Congress — could translate into meaningful deficit reduction. Trump’s plans are projected to add an additional $2 trillion to the debt at least, although precise estimates are difficult because of the vagueness of his promises.

A commission that involves Musk to identify spending cuts could help distract from Trump’s plans to increase the deficit — but also seal their political alliance.

Toward the end of a meandering, two-hour plus conversation on X between Trump and Musk last month, the Republican candidate fawned over how many people tuned into the conversation and said Musk’s endorsement meant more than most.

“That endorsement meant a lot to me,” Trump said of Musk’s July endorsement. “Not all endorsements mean that much, to be honest. Your endorsement meant a lot.”