MAGA and DOGE supporters often point out that the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, is working as a “special government employee” with President Trump “for free” — since he does not receive a salary.
Musk’s critics, less certain about his altruistic motivations, point out that many of the federal government maneuvers the billionaire supports — like the hobbling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — appear to benefit the companies he controls, including SpaceX, Tesla, and X.
In January, X struck a deal with leading credit card company Visa to launch a digital funds transfer and payment wallet app, X Money Account, a step towards Musk’s goal of turning X into an “everything app.”
On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate voted to strip the CFPB of its authority to monitor digital payment platforms like X Money Account.
[Note: Last November, during the Biden administration, the CFPB finalized a rule to supervise the largest nonbank companies offering digital funds transfer and payment wallet apps. CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said at the time: “The rule will help to protect consumer privacy, guard against fraud, and prevent illegal account closures.”]
Weeks after Trump’s inauguration, after DOGE announced terminations and stop-work orders at the CFPB, Musk wrote on X: “CFPB RIP.”
CFPB RIP
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 7, 2025
While the resolution to strip the CFPB of its supervision of digital wallets heads to the House for approval (it will also need Trump’s signature), Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren (MA) and Adam Schiff (CA) have asked the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) to look into “Musk’s compliance with federal ethics laws, given his financial interests and work with DOGE.”
First: Elon Musk tweeted “CFPB RIP.”
Now: Republicans are trying to block the CFPB from stopping fraud on apps like Venmo, CashApp and Elon’s new X Money.
Next week: They’ll try to move legislation allowing Musk to sell X Money as a stablecoin without any consumer protections. pic.twitter.com/ap1OKXkicW
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) March 5, 2025
In a letter to OGE, Schiff wrote: “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 Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee voted 13-11 on Thursday to advance the nomination of Jonathan McKernan, a Biden-nominated member of the FDIC’s board, as the new CFPB director. Senator Warren, who voted against the nomination, said McKernan “is clearly being sent in by co-presidents Trump and Elon Musk to unleash the scammers, the fraudsters, and the cheats on the American people.”
The CFPB has already drastically changed course and reduced its activity under the Trump administration.
NPR reported in February: “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday dropped five major legal cases it had underway — including a big lawsuit against Capital One — marking a major reversal for an agency that had pursued aggressive action against financial institutions accused of wrongdoing during the Biden administration.”