Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., calls on Donald Trump to create new ethics rules to guard against scandals involving SpaceX, Tesla and X owner Elon Musk Scandal awaits appointees who will jointly lead efforts to cut federal spending when the new administration takes office on Monday.

Warren told Trump's transition co-chairs in a letter obtained exclusively by The Guardian that Trump "can and should go above and beyond" Joe Biden's ethical standards for government officials.

Warren made seven recommendations related to lobbyists and lobbying, adding: "I encourage you to also consider adding new regulations to address some of the key corruption risks that emerged during President Trump's last administration, including restrictions on maintaining Restricted Employment of Special Government Employees in the Dual Private Sector.”

After donating hundreds of millions of dollars to Trump's campaign, Musk sided with Trump during the transition plan. The South African-born billionaire will now oversee a so-called Department of Government and Efficiency (Doge), which is trying to take over from the government co-led by biotech investor Vivek Ramaswamy. Trillions of dollars in cuts from government programs.

Warren also said Trump should establish ethical standards for "former officials who engage in business dealings with foreign governments" - an apparent attack on Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and first chief adviser. Jared Kushner, whose firm received $2 billion from Saudi investments, established the fund shortly after Trump was ousted from office four years ago.

Recipients of Warren's letter, Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon, would be subject to ethical standards if confirmed by Trump's Cabinet. Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman and CEO Lutnick has been nominated to serve as Commerce Secretary. McMahon, co-founder and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, served as a small business administrator in Trump's first administration and is now nominated to be education secretary.

Warren said in the letter that the ethics pledge issued in Trump's name in 2017 at the start of his first administration "includes unique advantages, such as strict bans on post-service lobbying and permanent bans on former officials from serving as foreigner". acting.

“While President Biden has issued a strong ethics pledge (in 2021), it still contains troubling elements, such as narrowing President Trump’s ban on former officials engaging in shadow lobbying” - Sunlight Foundation Defined as “influencing” public policy through advocacy, such as meeting with legislators or their staff without registering as a lobbyist.”

"President Trump can and should go beyond President Biden's and his own standards to make ethical commitments that include critical improvements," Warren said. He added: "The past three presidents have required incoming appointees to Compliance with ethics commitments in response to growing public concern about conflicts of interest among government officials.

“President Trump’s own 2017 ethics pledge sought to limit appointees’ relationships with lobbyists and foreign governments seeking to influence them and profit from their relationships.

"These commitments help fill gaps in existing ethics laws and hold officials to strict public integrity standards. These commitments are expected because the American people have seen that government officials often use their positions to to benefit their own pockets, special interest groups and even foreign governments.

“Even the appearance of this corruption is enough to undermine Americans’ trust in government — which is at an all-time low and appears to be heading in the wrong direction.”

According to Pew Research, public trust in the federal government was 22% in April 2024. That number was up from the previous year, when only 16% of Americans "said they trust the government almost always or most of the time, the lowest measure in polls in nearly seven years."

Warren's letter is likely to draw attention from Democrats given the ongoing controversy surrounding Trump's own ethics issues, including a multimillion-dollar fine in New York for business fraud; his appointment of billionaires to key posts; and a sign of his His first term was marked by a surge in lobbying scandals.

Tellingly, Trump appointed oil industry lobbyist Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency during his first term. Pruitt eventually resigned amid the scandal.

This week, the lobbying efforts of nominees for key positions in Trump's second administration have come under scrutiny, especially Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has recently become a top executive at Amazon, General Motors, and Uber. Lobbyists for interest groups such as Bubu and Qatar.

Democrats also accuse Trump of never properly divesting himself of his business interests during his first administration. Last year, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a report saying Trump had "repeatedly and willfully" violated the Constitution by "allowing his businesses to accept millions of dollars from some of the most corrupt countries on Earth," chiefly including China.

Earlier this month, Trump's company issued an ethics pledge saying he would not be involved while in office. Experts say the pledge is not strong enough.

In her letter to Lutnick and McMahon, Warren also said Trump should commit to not abolishing ethics standards when he leaves office, as he did in 2021.

The move echoes a campaign promise to "clear out the swamp of corruption in Washington" and echoes moves by Bill Clinton, whom Trump strongly criticized, whom Trump said "rigged the system on his way out of office."