GOP Gov. Claims Musk Is Too Rich to Be Corrupted by Conflicts of Interest
Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said that Elon Musk is “so rich” that he is “removed from the potential financial influence” when it comes to conflicts of interest related to his future work in government. In other words, Musk is too wealthy to possibly use his forthcoming government position to further enrich himself.
President Donald Trump has named Musk to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), leading many to worry that the tech billionaire would funnel government funds to his own companies like SpaceX, which benefits from federal contracts to the tune of billions of dollars.
But Sununu believes Musk is too flush with cash to possibly want more government money, so why would he use his position as a government regulator to benefit himself and his corporations?
“One of the criticisms and the concerns is that [Musk] has billions of dollars tied up in government contracts. You don’t see a conflict of interest here?” host Dana Bash asked the outgoing New Hampshire governor during a Sunday interview on CNN’s State of the Union.
“Everyone has a conflict of interest at some level,” Sununu said, brushing the question aside.
“But that’s like a pretty big one,” Bash noted.
“True,” Sununu said. “The guy’s worth $450 billion as of today and this month. So I don’t think he’s doing it for the money. He’s doing it for the bigger project and the bigger vision of America. He doesn’t need the dollars. He really doesn’t. So it’s not about, oh, if I get involved in this, I will get another little contract here or there. That’s nothing to him. So I like the fact that he’s — in a way, he’s so rich, he’s so removed from the potential financial influence of it.”
So, according to Sununu, the richest man in the world can’t be influenced by the appeal of lucrative government contracts because he already has lots and lots of money. It’s a ridiculous argument.
SpaceX, Musk’s aerospace company, has received nearly $20 billion in federal government contracts since 2008. In fiscal year 2024 alone, SpaceX raked in $3.8 billion in U.S. government contracts.
Beyond that, Musk could profit from a huge personal tax break thanks to a benefit available to federal officials and his future role leading DOGE as what Trump has described as his “secretary of cost-cutting.”
While Musk is raking in cash thanks to the government, millions of Americans could suffer if the Trump administration makes cuts to cornerstone entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare — benefits most working Americans have paid into since they began their careers.
But Sununu isn’t worried. In fact, he says Social Security and Medicare cuts “should be on the table.”
“[Cuts] should be on the table,” he said. “It doesn’t mean they have to do it tomorrow, but they at least have to think constructively. OK, we will set up a commission, we will set up guidelines, we will set up metrics.”
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