The world's richest man and US President Donald Trump's closest ally, Elon Musk, has been running the government from the shadows through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), much to the dislike of even some Republicans. According to the White House, Musk works under President Donald Trump as a “special government employee,” an unpaid employee of the federal government with fewer restrictions than full-time employees.
CREDIT: AP
As Musk runs wild with his crackdown on US federal agencies, the House Democrats have decided to take the fight to him with a bill named after the Tesla CEO.
The bill, Eliminate Looting of Our Nation by Mitigating Unethical State Kleptocracy (ELON MUSK) Act, was introduced by Mark Pocan on Wednesday and would ban special government employees from having federal contracts.
“No government employee, ‘Special’ or not, should have any financial interest in who the government does business with. Elon Musk is the poster child for this type of potential abuse. After more than $20 billion in federal contracts, there’s no way Musk can be objective in what he’s doing," Pocan said.
CREDIT: REUTERS
Several of Musk's businesses, including SpaceX and Starlink, have lucrative contracts with the US government, and there is growing concern among many that the billionaire will use his influence on Trump to enrich himself even further and also loosen restrictions that could affect his businesses.
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With DOGE, Musk and Trump have a declared target to cut federal spending by at least $2 trillion, which many experts say is unrealistic.
CREDIT: AP
Meanwhile, the House and Senate Democrats have also introduced a bill on Tuesday to block “unlawful access” to the Treasury payments system. Musk's overreach is also being challenged by two federal employee unions that have filed suit to block DOGE access to the system.
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