March 05, 2025

As Elon Musk Tries to Destroy the CFPB, Warren, Schiff Demand Answers from Office of Government Ethics on Conflicts of Interest

Letter follows vote in the Senate to give Elon Musk a “Get Out of Jail Free Card” by stripping CFPB of authority to prevent fraud at X Money

“Actions by Mr. Musk and DOGE at the CFPB have the potential to directly benefit X, Visa, and Tesla—and by extension, Mr. Musk.”

Letter from Ranking Member Warren, Senator Schiff (PDF)

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and Senator Adam Schiff (D-Cal.), wrote to Acting Director of the Office of Government Ethics, Secretary Doug Collins, to demand answers about Elon Musk’s conflicts of interest as he works to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The Senators previously wrote to acting CFPB Director Russ Vought and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with their concerns and received no reply. The letter follows today’s vote in the Senate to give Elon Musk a “Get Out of Jail Free Card” by stripping the CFPB of authority to prevent fraud at his new platform X money and other digital payment platforms like Venmo or CashApp. More than three-quarters of Americans have used these platforms, with fraud rapidly increasing. 

Since its founding, the CFPB has returned over $21 billion to millions of consumers scammed out of their money, including returning hundreds of millions of dollars to veterans, seniors, and student borrowers cheated by predatory lenders.

“Efforts to shut down the CFPB are dangerous and are particularly costly for people whose claims of illegal foreclosures, car repossessions, or debanking are currently under investigation by the agency. However, despite the critical importance of the CFPB to American consumers, the Trump Administration, including Mr. Musk and DOGE, have worked to systemically undermine the agency.” wrote the senators. 

The senators laid out Elon Musk’s clear conflicts of interest: “In addition to his role as head of DOGE, Mr. Musk is the primary owner of the social media company X. Since purchasing X, Mr. Musk has considered expanding the social media platform into digital payments. On January 28, X announced a partnership with Visa to process peer-to-peer payments and launch a digital wallet. Notably, the CFPB has taken steps in recent years to protect consumers from fraud on digital payment apps and collects proprietary information from the digital payment industry. Mr. Musk is also the founder and CEO of Tesla, which offers customers the option of working with Tesla to finance their auto purchases. The CFPB plays a critical role in supervising the auto lending industry and protecting consumers from corporate malfeasance and scams. Therefore, actions by Mr. Musk and DOGE at the CFPB have the potential to directly benefit X, Visa, and Tesla—and by extension, Mr. Musk.”

The Senators also described the potential criminal consequences for Mr. Musk, noting that “if Mr. Musk has taken actions in his federal role that will benefit his financial interests without receiving appropriate waivers and approvals, he may have violated the criminal conflict of interest statute.”

The Senators laid out detailed questions for the Office of Government Ethics on Elon Musk’s involvement in CFPB decisionmaking and compliance with federal ethics laws. They requested a robust response to their request in a timely manner.

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