The standard is to remove all possibility and/or appearance of conflict of interest. "Some guy gave me control of all the money and said I shouldn't take any for myself" is so far below this standard it's comical.
Firstly, someone ultimately has to have control of agency spendng, so that cannot be deemed a conflict of interest by itself.
Secondly, I don't believe Musk has any direct authority to make any changes within these agencies whatsoever. DOGE is only permitted to review agency operations and make recommendations, not to execute them.
The changes that are being attributed to Musk, are perhaps being done at his recommendation, but there is an agency director signing off on all of this.
To be clear, "is there evidence the world's richest person has a profit motivation behind his sudden interest in unpaid public service" is your question?
Yes, though I wouldn't call his interest in public policy sudden.
If we're honest this is all just unfounded speculation.
Financially, he's likely going to benefit from a deregulatory agenda, but is it enough to offset his investments to get Trump elected (buying Twitter, America PAC)? Who knows
Is his work at USAID in any way related to his financial outcomes? Who knows
Would he make just as much sitting on the couch while the republicans do their thing? Probably
Does he even care about making more money, given he's got more than he can possibly spend already? Who knows.
If I were to guess, he's at a point in his life where money isn't his main motivator, and instead he's seeking to make an impact.
Musk owes quite a lot of his virtual fortune to government subsidies. That alone should prevent him from being anywhere near the government. The appearance of impropriety is corrosive because it undermines public trust in the government. You don’t need improper actions to be in a conflict of interest.
We also know that he has no moral compass and no qualm whatsoever using any lever he can to make money. The moment to worry about this is before he leaves with the till. Because everyone knows he will, and by then it will be too late.
> The White House said Elon Musk, the billionaire leading President Donald Trump’s government cost-cutting efforts, will determine if there are conflicts of interest between his work reviewing federal spending and his overlapping empire of six companies.
