A group of leading Democratic lawmakers is demanding a federal investigation into potential conflicts of interest involving billionaire Elon Musk and his involvement in the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government, according to The Guardian.
In a letter addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Transportation Department Acting Inspector General Mitch Behm, Democratic Senators Chris Van Hollen, Richard Blumenthal, and Elizabeth Warren called for a probe into the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) decision to cancel a $2.4 billion contract with Verizon to upgrade air traffic control communications and instead pay Musk’s Starlink to manage U.S. airspace.
“We ask that the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General and the Department of Justice investigate the scope of Mr Musk’s activities at the FAA,” the senators said.
The request comes amid growing concerns about the state of the U.S. air traffic control system, following a series of aviation incidents under the Trump administration. The publication obtained three letters sent by congressional Democrats on Monday.
A second letter, signed by Van Hollen, Blumenthal, Warren, Senator Jeff Merkley, and Representative Jamie Raskin, was addressed to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. It reportedly requested written assurances that the administration would address multiple alleged ethics violations and conflicts of interest tied to Trump’s first two months in office.
A third letter asked Comptroller General Gene Dodaro to launch a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation into the appointment of former Congressman Doug Collins to lead both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of Government Ethics, raising concerns about potential conflicts undermining both agencies.
Musk, the world’s richest man and CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X, has played a central role in Trump’s initiative to reduce federal budgets and staffing through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Democrats argue that his involvement raises ethical questions given his companies’ extensive government contracts and regulatory oversight.
The group wanted to know whether the billionaire, “in his capacity as a special government employee in the White House … has participated in any particular matter in which he has a financial interest, which would violate the criminal conflict-of-interest statute."
The group said Musk, through his companies, has raked in billions of dollars while entities with pending investigations against his companies have been stripped off resources to do their work.
“Since President Trump took office at least 11 … agencies with ‘investigations, pending complaints or enforcement actions’ against Musk’s companies have been hamstrung, including through the firing of the agencies’ independent commissioners and rolling back the agencies’ independence.
“Meanwhile, Musk’s companies – which have already received at least $38bn in federal funding – are vying for new federal contracts," they wrote.
The Democrats asked Wiles to respond by 31 March.
