Third Way Statement on Donald Trump’s Plan to Let Elon Musk Take Over Government

WASHINGTON—Third Way released the following statement from Zach Moller, Director of the Economic Program:

“Donald Trump has yet another weird idea to add to his agenda: letting Elon Musk reorganize the government.

“Handing the keys of government to those looking to profit from our government is extremely dangerous and a massive conflict of interest. The idea of a Musk-run government efficiency commission is a farce and will lead to more waste, fraud, and rampant abuse of political power. Musk has zero experience in government and has never run a government agency. Though he is a brilliant entrepreneur and a tech visionary, many of the companies he now runs are deeply troubled and mismanaged. Americans would be right to suspect that Musk would use his newfound government powers to throw a lifeline to his teetering companies.

“Breaking government to try to piece it back together again is a terrible idea—especially since we are still repairing the damages that Donald Trump caused in his first term.

“To be sure, fraud in large federal safety net programs is an issue, and true program integrity efforts deserve attention and enhancement. Fighting those individuals bilking federal agencies and cheating on their taxes would be a huge first step to improving our federal government. But let’s put someone in charge who is qualified and doesn’t have a personal financial stake in the outcome. We wouldn’t put a director of a government agency at the head of Tesla. Let’s not make a similar mistake here.”