The arrival of a cadre of engineers tied to Elon Musk at the Department of Energy and other federal agencies is shaking up career staffers and testing the nation’s ethics rules.
Details are emerging around more than 30 people tied to Musk’s government-slashing group, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, including DOE representatives with links to SpaceX, a company the tech billionaire owns.
“The federal ethics system is being tested right now, and the public will only be protected if there are accurate disclosures, strong ethics agreements, daily oversight and full transparency,” said Scott Amey, general counsel for the Project on Government Oversight.
Musk’s work is central to President Donald Trump’s efforts to slash government and spending, but employees say it’s not clear who is overseeing members of DOGE and what sort of surveillance is underway.
