Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who as a Congressman was famously one of President Donald Trump’s main congressional opponents during his first term in the White House, appears to have a new target: Elon Musk.
The freshly elected Senator, who was just sworn in last month, said on Musk’s X on Monday that he sent a letter to the Office of Government Ethics that morning.
The letter asked that the office clarify how Musk was complying with “federal conflicts of interest, ethics, and reporting requirements” working as a “special government employee,” while holding financial interests in several companies tied to federal contracts.
The head of that office, Joe Biden appointee David Huitema, was fired by Trump that same day. Trump hasn’t directly addressed the firing as of Friday.
“I want to know: Was [the firing] to prevent his answer,” Schiff wrote on X.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Musk spoke to reporters in the Oval Office as Trump sat at the Resolute Desk, and defended himself against accusations that he was financially benefitting from his role heading up the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, officially a temporary contracted office designed to cut costs and tackle the national debt.
When pressed about potential conflicts of interest, Musk said “Transparency is what builds trust,” and that everything DOGE does will be documented on X. Speaking to reporters last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Musk will “excuse himself” when DOGE investigates deals involving his businesses.
Reporting from Reuters found that Musk’s companies, including SpaceX and Tesla, have billions of dollars tied up in government contracts.
“According to public reporting, Tesla, Inc. and SpaceX alone account over the past decade for at least $15.4 billion in government contracts across a dozen agencies,” Schiff wrote to the Office of Government Ethics. “Mr. Musk’s companies have also been the subject of at least 20 recent investigations or reviews by federal agencies, which heightens the risk that Mr. Musk may seek to use his new position to shield his companies from federal scrutiny.”
Musk and Schiff have sparred on X in the past. Twice since Dec. 15, Musk posted “Schiff is a criminal” in response to Schiff comments on his opposition to Trump potentially pardoning those convicted of participating in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump eventually made that a reality on his first day back in office.
Musk didn’t provide evidence to his claim that Schiff engaged in criminal behavior. Just before leaving office, Biden preemptively pardoned Schiff and the entire House committee that investigated Jan. 6, citing fears of politically motivated prosecutions by the Trump Administration.
