If Elon Musk Joins the Government, What Will He Have to Disclose About His Wealth?

Governing by tweet, President-Elect Donald Trump’s medication announced Tuesday nighttime that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy volition co-lead a caller Department of Government Efficiency, wherever they volition “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, chopped wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” It sounds similar a batch of work for 2 men that cipher elected to office. It besides seems a spot fishy to name Musk, a antheral whose wealthiness is massively babelike connected authorities contracts and different federal support, to a relation with power implicit spending.

Gizmodo interviewed Jordan Libowitz, vice president of communications astatine the nonpartisan nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics successful Washington, astir what ethical obligations Musk and Ramaswamy whitethorn person successful their caller roles.

This speech has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Gizmodo: We don’t cognize overmuch astir this caller Department of Government Efficiency. But based connected Trump’s announcement, is it apt Musk oregon Ramaswamy volition necessitate immoderate benignant of Congressional support to pb it?

Jordan Libowitz: We don’t truly cognize what this caller assemblage is. They usage the word department, but it is not apt to really beryllium a department. Departments are created by Congress and Congress has not created a caller section here. So it’s apt not to beryllium thing that goes done a Senate confirmation process.

What it is truly affects the obligations that Musk and Ramaswamy would person successful presumption of statutes connected conflicts of involvement and the like. We don’t cognize wherever it fits into the government, but it seems to beryllium thing that would solely beryllium a statesmanlike assignment much on the lines of a bluish ribbon committee oregon a survey group, not similar the Department of Homeland Security.

Gizmodo: If it is much of an advisory body, what benignant of fiscal and struggle of involvement disclosures mightiness Musk person to make?

Libowitz: There are a mates of possibilities. The archetypal question is whether they’re going to beryllium considered thing called a peculiar authorities employee, which is taxable to struggle of involvement laws. It depends connected however they’ll beryllium interacting with authorities employees. Will they beryllium directing authorities employees successful immoderate way? Will they beryllium viewed arsenic speaking connected behalf of Trump and his administration? What are their duties?

Depending connected those, they would beryllium taxable to struggle of involvement laws. They would person to record fiscal disclosures. Section 208,  the Criminal Conflict of Interest Statute, would benignant of tighten what they’re capable to do. When you person 208 concerns, you’re talking astir a substance of either recusal oregon divestiture. They tin either say, hey, I’m not going to bash thing that has thing to bash with societal media companies, oregon space, oregon the automotive industry, oregon thing other they person assets tied to oregon they could divest those assets earlier they get into the process.

What we person heard is [Trump] utilizing the word advise, right? They’re going to beryllium advising the government. So it’s besides going to beryllium a question of whether this falls nether the Federal Advisory Committee Act. If this is considered a FACA group, they’re going to person to beryllium much transparent. If it’s not a FACA group, past there’s a decent accidental they’re going to beryllium falling nether the auspices of lobbying and they’ll person to marque lobbying disclosures.

Gizmodo: If it turns retired that Musk and Ramaswamy don’t suffice arsenic peculiar authorities employees oregon autumn nether FACA does that mean they won’t person overmuch powerfulness oregon power implicit authorities operations?

Libowitz: You know, power is simply a comic thing. There are a batch of ways to person it. Donald Trump and his erstwhile medication famously, oregon infamously had, 3 members of Mar-a-Lago conscionable calling successful to springiness departments advice—it was the [Department of Veterans Affairs], they were giving proposal connected however to bash things—and nary 1 successful the authorities knew who these radical were.

Anyone adjacent to the president, if the president truthful wishes, tin look to person a batch of power connected the government. But the much benignant of factual enactment they’re taking, the much apt it would classify arsenic lobbying.

Gizmodo: If Musk does person to record a fiscal disclosure, what mightiness we larn from it?

Libowitz: It’s fundamentally assets and debts, a breakout of what each their assets are, usually wrong definite ranges—for Musk, I presume a batch of them are going to autumn into the implicit $50 cardinal range—but besides wherever they ain wealth and what rates those are at.

There’s a batch of statement going connected close present astir what the valuation of X, formerly Twitter, is. From what we’ve seen from slope write-offs, it’s a batch little than it was a twelvemonth oregon 2 ago. [Musk] would person to springiness his ownership and what that’s valued astatine and that would springiness a overmuch much transparent presumption of what the institution is valued at.

We mightiness besides larn wherever Musk’s wealth is extracurricular of the benignant of 3 large companies [X, Tesla, and SpaceX] helium owns—because helium owns a batch of companies. Where is helium invested elsewhere?

The full constituent of this is for the nationalist and for the authorities to see… are determination imaginable conflicts of involvement by members of the government? Should helium record a idiosyncratic fiscal disclosure form, we would spot a batch much details astir what helium owns, what the valuation is, wherever his debts lie, and however liquid helium is.

Gizmodo: Do you privation to speculate astir however this volition play retired and what morals rules Musk volition person to follow?

Libowitz: I person nary earthly idea. This could beryllium anyplace from they are moving a shadiness authorities to they conscionable got shooed into a corner. We conscionable don’t person capable details astir what this really is. I deliberation lone clip volition archer what magnitude of power it has.

The authorities moves slowly. There’s lone truthful overmuch betterment you tin enactment into 2 years and a batch of things person to spell done Congress. Congress is galore things, but accelerated isn’t 1 of them.

But the contractor thing, betwixt NASA, the Department of Defense, and SpaceX, that’s wherever a imaginable struggle of involvement is astir apt astir apt to popular up.