How is Elon Musk personally benefiting from his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency? The agency, known as DOGE, is tasked with slashing “trillions” of dollars in federal spending and has set its sights on regulatory agencies, including ones that have opened investigations into Musk’s business practices. “At a minimum, it’s an appearance of conflict of interest,” says journalist Eric Lipton, who is investigating Musk and DOGE for The New York Times. Musk’s business empire is a major beneficiary of government contracts, says Lipton, and “all of the disruption that is happening across the federal government has benefited his operations.” Lipton also discusses Trump and his allies’ cryptocurrency schemes and the Trump family’s investments in the Middle East.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.