• Elizabeth Warren wants President-elect Trump to set conflict of interest rules for Elon Musk.
• Warren called any lack of rules “an invitation to corruption on a scale never seen in our lifetimes.”
• Musk is set to play an influential role in Trump’s second term as co-head of DOGE.

Senator Elizabeth Warren on Monday asked President-elect Donald Trump to set conflict of interest rules that would apply to the Tesla CEO. Elon Muskwho is set to take on a leading role as co-head of the Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE).

The Massachusetts Democrat and former 2020 presidential candidate sent the letter to Trump’s transition team, according to the Washington Post, noting that team members must adhere to an ethical policy this requires them to “avoid real and apparent conflicts of interest”.

Musk, who spent more than $250 million to help elect Trump and support other Republican candidates ahead of the 2024 general election, was one of Trump’s most omnipresent confidants in recent months, accompanying the president-elect on his travels and participating in his talks with world leaders.

Trump has charged Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy with reducing government waste through DOGE. Both men have said they want to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget.

“Putting Mr. Musk in a position to influence billions of dollars in government contracts and regulatory enforcement without a strict conflict of interest agreement in place is an invitation to corruption on a massive scale. never seen in our lifetime,” Warren said in his letter.

“Currently, the American public has no way of knowing whether the advice they whisper to you in secret is good for the country – or just good for their own bottom line,” she continued.

In a statement to Business Insider, Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt responded to Warren by praising Musk’s influence and criticizing the Democratic lawmaker. Leavitt called Warren “a career politician whose societal impact is 1/1024th that of Elon Musk” and said Trump’s transition team adheres to high ethical guidelines.

Musk was one of Trump’s most high-profile surrogates during the presidential race, spending weeks campaigning for the president-elect in crucial Pennsylvania, which Trump would win en route to a national victory.