Billionaire Elon Musk, who has been given a top position in the incoming Trump administration, has an outsized influence on the president-elect, multiple news outlets have reported.
After endorsing Donald Trump following the assassination attempt against the then-presidential candidate in Butler, Pennsylvania in July, Musk became a leading figure in the campaign. Since Trump’s election victory last week, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO has had an input on who the incoming administration is tapping for jobs, insider sources have told media outlets including ABC News, CNN and Axios.
Musk has reportedly visited Trump’s residence in Florida almost every day since the election. He was present during at least two conversations that the politician had with foreign leaders, including Vladimir Zelensky of Ukraine and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, sources said. Trump allegedly handed the phone over to his key supporter during the call with Kiev.
Trump has described Musk as a “genius” and touted his ability to radically boost America’s competitiveness. CNN sources have described the president-elect as “enamored” with the tech tycoon, the world’s richest man.
On Sunday, Musk urged Republican senators to pick Rick Scott of Florida as their next Majority Leader. He also expressed reservations about Trump’s nomination of Representative Elise Stefanik of New York for US envoy to the UN, writing this week that “it might be too dicey to lose her from the House, at least for now”.
The new Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk will co-lead with fellow pro-GOP tycoon Vivek Ramaswamy, will be tasked with cutting red tape and eliminating government waste, potentially impacting the jobs of tens of thousands of federal workers.
The New York Times warned last week about potential conflicts of interest stemming from Trump’s reliance on Musk for policy and staffing decisions. The president-elect is considering hiring some employees from the billionaire’s rocket company, SpaceX, for government jobs, it said. SpaceX is a major contractor for NASA and the Pentagon.