Rep. Emily Randall and Ranking Member Connolly Spearhead Oversight Investigation Into Elon Musk’s Conflicts of Interest at the Department of Transportation

Washington, D.C. (April 10, 2025)—Today, Rep. Emily Randall, and Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Judith S. Kaleta, Deputy General Counsel and Designated Agency Ethics Official at the Department of Transportation (DOT), requesting documents, information, and answers as to how DOT is ensuring Elon Musk is not exploiting the agency to enrich himself in violation of federal ethics rules.  As Elon Musk and his DOGE lackeys’ gut and terminate vital programs Americans rely on under the guise of “efficiency,” he has conveniently ignored the potential waste, fraud, and abuse stemming from his own companies’ lucrative contracts worth billions in taxpayer dollars.  Ethics laws prevent political appointees, including Special Government Employees (SGEs), from taking part in any matter that might impact their personal finances.  As of February 2025, Mr. Musk and his companies have received a combined total of at least $38 billion in contracts, loans, subsidies, and/or tax credits from the federal government and state governments.  In fact, Mr. Musk’s businesses have been more reliant on government funds than many of his competitors.   

“We write with significant concerns about Elon Musk’s clear conflicts of interest at the Department of Transportation (DOT).  In an unprecedented arrangement, President Donald Trump has bestowed expansive and unlawful authority to unelected billionaire Elon Musk.  Mr. Musk is redirecting billions of taxpayer dollars to fund his own financial interests while slashing federal government employees, programs, and services. Mr. Muskremains in charge of a sprawling private sector business empire that continues to rely on billions of dollars in government funding and has been charged with managing his own conflicts of interest.  This arrangement is corrupt on its face and threatens accountable, democratic governance.”   

Mr. Musk continues to profit from taxpayer dollars and is now in charge of determining which federal contracts the government will keep and which will be cut—an arrangement that runs afoul of the law.  Ethics laws prevent political appointees, including SGEs, from taking part in any matter that might impact their personal finances. 

Benefits to Musk’s Companies from DOT include: 

• Mr. Musk’s space exploration company, SpaceX, received at least $332,700 in financial benefits from DOT between 2003 and 2025.  However, now that Mr. Musk is a government employee, there have been numerous reports that he is pushing to redirect much larger, more lucrative contracts to his companies, especially Starlink, a SpaceX subsidiary.
• DOT Secretary Duffy has tasked Musk with “modernizing aviation” at FAA, and Muskbrought in teams from SpaceX.  DOT then hired Musk’s own lawyers to conduct an internal investigation of FAA, duplicating work DOT had already tasked to the DOT Inspector General. 
• While considering major cuts to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Mr. Musktried to sabotage a $2.4 billion communications contract that the agency had previously awarded to Verizon, a rival to his Starlink company.  Following Musk’s meddling, the status of Verizon’s contract remains unclear, but reporting indicates that FAA officials are considering its termination in favor of Starlink. 
• In addition to using his power to pull the rug out from under his competitors, reportingshows that Musk’s Starlink has begun fulfilling a new contract with the FAA to upgrade its airspace system technology, and that FAA officials have specifically directed staff to work on a Starlink contract to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.

In their letter, Rep. Randall and Ranking Member Connolly also cite multiple DOT investigations into Musk’s companies, including an FAA investigation into SpaceX for disregarding license requirements for two of its launches and five National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigations into Tesla’s dangerous self-driving.  President Trump illegally fired DOT’s Inspector General, the agency’s independent watchdog responsible for conducting oversight of any potential waste, fraud, abuse, or corruption associated with Musk, and it is unclear if the office is still pursuing their oversight efforts of Musk’s companies. Since arriving at the White House, Musk has overseen the dismantling of the FAA and other regulatory and investigatory agencies that have fined or investigated his companies, including SpaceX, Neurolink, and Tesla, in the past.  

“The law, however, has not stopped Mr. Musk. On the contrary, Mr. Musk’s ability to enrich himself through DOGE is a textbook example of corruption at the taxpayers’ expense,” wrote the Members. “At DOT, Mr. Musk’s companies have both benefited from contracts and been targets of multiple investigations.  The conflicts of interest presented by this arrangement are illegal and must be addressed immediately.”

Click here to read the letter to DOT Deputy General Counsel Judith S. Kaleta. 

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