A new Economic Policy Institute report examines how President Trump is enabling billionaire Elon Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to flout conflicts of interest—and estimates the potential cost to U.S. families.  

By removing certain ethical requirements for civil servants, appointing Musk as a “special government employee,” and granting DOGE unprecedented access to sensitive government data, Trump has created multiple avenues for Musk and his team to exploit their political positions for their own personal gain. If Musk leveraged his access and influence to double the value of federal contracts awarded to his companies, he would capture $23.6 billion in federal spending. 

Musk and DOGE team members now have unprecedented access to nonpublic data—including Social Security data and IRS data—and have a poor track record of keeping sensitive, confidential data secure. This could exacerbate the problem of identity theft in the United States. If current victimization rates doubled, identity theft would affect 50 million people and cost them $39.4 billion annually. 

Further, this nonpublic data is highly valued in the burgeoning data broker industry. Even if DOGE’s data access yielded just 10% of the market insights provided by that data broker industry, it would be worth $43.4 billion, according to the report.  

“Trump has actively dismantled the typical guardrails that prevent public servants from abusing their positions for personal profit, reflecting his own pattern of exploiting the presidency for personal gain. This has all been done to empower the richest man in history to shape U.S. government policy and potentially profit from influence over federal contracts and access to personal data,” said Celine McNicholas, EPI’s director of policy and government affairs/general counsel. 

“Musk and DOGE’s access to personal data is alarming, made worse by the complete absence of meaningful oversight. That unrestrained access to data will likely worsen the problem of identity theft in the United States, which could cost working families tens of billions of dollars annually,” said Ben Zipperer, EPI senior economist.