A watchdog nonprofit mentioned Wednesday that it was asking 16 federal companies to element any interactions they’ve had with Elon Musk’s new budget-cutting effort, the Division of Authorities Effectivity.
The nonprofit, State Democracy Defenders Fund, says it desires to guard the democratic course of and the rule of legislation. It was based final 12 months by Norman Eisen, who was an ethics official throughout the Obama administration and served as counsel to the Democrat-led Home Judiciary Committee throughout the first Trump administration.
Mr. Eisen’s new group says its preliminary focus throughout President-elect Donald J. Trump’s second time period would be the Division of Authorities Effectivity — which, regardless of its official-sounding title, will not be a authorities division however a loosely organized effort run by Mr. Musk and one other rich entrepreneur, the previous Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Mr. Trump has charged them with chopping authorities sharply by July 2026. Mr. Musk has mentioned he desires to slash $2 trillion out of the federal funds, which might imply lowering federal spending by nearly a 3rd. He and Mr. Ramaswamy have additionally mentioned chopping 1000’s of rules, lowering the variety of federal staff, and even ending daylight saving time.
Mr. Eisen mentioned that his group was sending public-records requests to companies, asking for copies of any emails or different correspondence with the division’s representatives. In addition they requested for any communications between federal officers and Mr. Trump’s transition group that reference Mr. Musk’s budget-cutting effort.
The watchdog group can also be asking companies for inner communications, which present federal staff speaking in regards to the division, typically referred to as DOGE, amongst themselves.
Mr. Eisen’s group mentioned the requests are going to high-profile companies, just like the Protection and Justice Departments, in addition to smaller companies that both regulate Mr. Musk’s firms — together with SpaceX and Tesla — or purchase from them.
Mr. Musk’s firms obtained about $3 billion value of contracts with federal companies final 12 months alone. His greatest authorities prospects embrace the Protection Division and NASA, which employs SpaceX to launch rockets and satellites into house. His firms are additionally embroiled in regulatory battles with federal companies, together with over the protection of Tesla self-driving vehicles and SpaceX’s efforts to maintain its rocket launches from harming wildlife.
As a result of Mr. Musk’s new place may enable him to suggest cuts to funding or employees in any a part of authorities, it may give him leverage over his regulators and his prospects in Washington.
“Musk’s mandate is immense — as are his potential conflicts of interest, which is why we’ve begun our inquiry, ” Mr. Eisen mentioned in a press release asserting the data requests.
