Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt skewered U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) after the progressive Democrat called on the president-elect to establish a series of conflict-of-interest rules for Elon Musk, the incoming head of the new Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk has bent President-elect Donald Trump’s ear since helping him win a second term, investing more than $250 million in outside groups that mobilized swing state voters during the campaign’s final days. In return, Trump has appointed the Tesla and SpaceX founder to the pinnacle of the federal government, giving him a perch that he has promised to wield in slashing inefficient bureaucracy and forcing remote government workers to return to their offices. Warren, whose prized Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is in Musk’s crosshairs, sent a letter to the Trump campaign last week asking that its team implement guardrails around Musk to “avoid both actual and apparent conflicts of interest.”
“Putting Mr. Musk in a position to influence billions of dollars of government contracts and regulatory enforcement without a stringent conflict of interest agreement in place is an invitation for corruption on a scale not seen in our lifetimes,” Warren said in her letter, Business Insider reported. “Currently, the American public has no way of knowing whether the advice that he is whispering to you in secret is good for the country — or merely good for his own bottom line,” she continued.
The failed Democratic presidential candidate has had controversies of her own making, including claiming her heritage as Native American when accepting a job at Harvard University. In a much-maligned campaign stunt, Warren released a video of her taking a DNA test only to find out that she is 1/1024th Cherokee. Nevertheless, she doubled down, stating, “My family history is my family history.”
Leavitt, the fiery incoming White House Press Secretary, lampooned Warren in a statement to the outlet. “President Trump has assembled the most impressive and qualified team of innovators, entrepreneurs, and geniuses to advise and staff our government,” Leavitt said.
“Pocahontas can play political games and send toothless letters, but the Trump-Vance transition will continue to be held to the highest ethical and legal standards possible – a standard unfamiliar to a career politician whose societal impact is 1/1024th of Elon Musk’s.”
The Washington Post is more offended that Trump hilariously calls Elizabeth Warren “Pocahontas” than they are that she used her fake heritage to get ahead in life.
You don’t hate legacy media enough. pic.twitter.com/no0rzuFwnk
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) December 17, 2024
Musk got in on the action, using X’s artificial intelligence Grok to release a series of parody photos showing Warren in Native American garb. “Guess who this is?” he asked.
Guess who this is? 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/XHWcgIa04W
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 17, 2024
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2024
President-elect Trump repeatedly brought up Warren’s heritage during his first term, most notably while honoring Navaho Code Talkers in 2017. “You were here long before any of us were here,” he told the WWII fighters who helped American troops communicate without being compromised. “Although we have a representative in Congress who they say was here a long time ago. They call her ‘Pocahontas.’”
Watch:
MOMENTS AGO: Pres. Trump at White House event honoring Navajo code talkers, makes joke about “Pocahontas” Sen. Elizabeth Warren. pic.twitter.com/PgdhbxBrfT
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) November 27, 2017
