Musk is already privy to some insider national security information as the head of SpaceX, one of his companies that has earned billions in taxpayer dollars in contracts, including from the Defense Department.
But his unusual closeness to the administration and a top-level meeting at the Pentagon bring the mercurial billionaire in closer proximity to secretive work, deepening his conflicts of interest. In seeking friendly governments for his business interests, Musk has cozied up to Beijing to broaden the market and production for his Tesla electric vehicles.
That relationship poses a problem for the Pentagon, which under Trump in 2018 established China as its primary adversary. The Defense Department describes China as the only nation that can keep pace with the U.S. military in a fight, and it has reoriented its budget and forces to prepare accordingly.
“Handing Musk our military plans for China goes far beyond the usual kleptocracy of this admin. Musk has a significant financial stake in China,” Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (New York), the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on X in response to the reporting by the Times. “Trump’s gone from stashing national security secrets in a Mar-a-lago bathroom to selling them to his biggest donor.”
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But his unusual closeness to the administration and a top-level meeting at the Pentagon bring the mercurial billionaire in closer proximity to secretive work, deepening his conflicts of interest. In seeking friendly governments for his business interests, Musk has cozied up to Beijing to broaden the market and production for his Tesla electric vehicles.
That relationship poses a problem for the Pentagon, which under Trump in 2018 established China as its primary adversary. The Defense Department describes China as the only nation that can keep pace with the U.S. military in a fight, and it has reoriented its budget and forces to prepare accordingly.
“Handing Musk our military plans for China goes far beyond the usual kleptocracy of this admin. Musk has a significant financial stake in China,” Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (New York), the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on X in response to the reporting by the Times. “Trump’s gone from stashing national security secrets in a Mar-a-lago bathroom to selling them to his biggest donor.”
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