Former White House ethics czar Norm Eisen argued that President Trump and tech billionaire’s Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are “violating the law right and left.”
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked Eisen — who served in the Obama administration — about Musk’s remarks from the Oval Office alongside President Trump on Tuesday, when the Tesla CEO said he’d determine his own conflicts of interests working within the federal government.
The former official said that is not how things are meant to work.
“The ethics laws are there to protect against conflicts,” Eisen said Tuesday during a panel on CNN’s “The Situation Room,” highlighted by Mediaite. “So, people who are working for the government are serving the public interest, not their own interest. Elon Musk is slashing staff in agencies that are investigating him.”
He also noted that Musk’s disclosures haven’t been made public and questioned how exactly the billionaire would deal with any conflicts of interests, given that his wealthy businesses often intertwine with the government.
“Does he have waivers? Is he recused?” he questioned.
The tech giant defended DOGE’s moves during the press conference, despite heavy criticism from Democrats who have sounded the alarm that illegal actions have been taken, and Americans’ privacy compromised after the administration granted the group access to various payment and information systems.
“The people voted for major government reform and that’s what the people are going to get,” Musk said Tuesday. “That’s what democracy is all about.”
The billionaire owner of social platform X has also pushed back against the legal challenges to DOGE and the Trump administration, calling for Congress to impeach the judges blocking their sweeping orders. Federal judges have put a temporary halt on many of Trump’s executive orders and some could make it all the way to the Supreme Court — which currently holds a conservative majority.
While Musk spent his time in the Oval defending his work, Eisen attempted to highlight the unprecedented nature of DOGE and the president teaming up.
“You have a criminal president, 34 convictions. No wonder he’s happy with Elon Musk,” the former ethics czar said. “They’re violating the law right and left.”
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
