The Guardian: Elizabeth Warren urges Trump to beef up ethics rules as Musk takes key role
The Massachusetts Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren has called on Donald Trump to institute new ethics rules to guard against scandals involving appointees such as Elon Musk, the SpaceX, Tesla and X owner who will jointly lead an effort to slash federal spending after the new administration takes power on Monday.
Trump “can and should top” Joe Biden’s ethics standards for government officials, Warren told Trump’s transition co-chairs in a letter exclusively obtained by the Guardian.
Offering seven suggestions related to lobbyists and lobbying, Warren added: “I encourage you to also consider adding new provisions to address some of the key corruption risks that arose during President Trump’s last administration – including restrictions on special government employees who maintain dual private-sector employment.”
Having donated hundreds of millions to Trump’s campaign, Musk installed himself at Trump’s side during transition planning. The South African-born billionaire will now oversee a so-called “department of government and efficiency”, or Doge, an attempt to cut trillions of dollars from government programs, jointly led by Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech investor.
Warren also said Trump should institute ethics standards for “former officials who engage in business deals with foreign governments” – an apparent jab at Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and first-term chief adviser whose firm received $2bn from a Saudi investment fund shortly after Trump left power four years ago.
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Read the full article here.
By: Martin Pengelly
Source: The Guardian
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