As my colleague Philip Wen noted in his report on the appointment of Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, many details remain unclear:

It is not clear how the organization will operate. It could fall under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which dictates how outside groups that advise the government must operate and be accountable to the public.

Federal employees are generally required to disclose their assets and entanglements to avoid potential conflicts of interest, and to divest significant interests related to their work. Because Musk and Ramaswamy would not be formal federal employees, they would not face these requirements or ethical restrictions.

Trump said the agency will conduct a “full financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and make recommendations for dramatic reforms.”

Trump said their work would be completed by July 4, 2026, adding that a smaller and more efficient government would be a “gift” to the country on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Read more here: Trump selects Elon Musk to head government efficiency department

The announcement that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would lead a new non-governmental ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ immediately raised questions about conflicts of interest.

Both men, CNN notes, “run companies with existing, lucrative government contracts.” Musk runs companies like Tesla, SpaceX, X and Neuralink, while Ramaswamy is a wealthy biotech entrepreneur.

In his statement announcing the new roles, he called the president-elect Donald Trump said about Musk and Ramaswamy:

Together, these two great Americans will pave the way for my administration to dismantle the government bureaucracy, eliminate redundant regulations, reduce wasteful spending, and restructure federal agencies.

Reacting to his appointment and expressing his views on what he sees as government bureaucracy, Ramaswamy posted a message to X saying: “Shut it down”.

Ramaswamy also announced he was ending his bid to be appointed Ohio senator in place of J.D. Vance, who is set to become vice president.

Welcome to The Guardian’s continuing coverage of American politics. Here are the headlines…

• President-elect Donald Trump has continued to make appointments as he prepares to return to the White House. Former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabeewho once said he dreamed of building a vacation home in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, will become U.S. ambassador to Israel

• South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem will lead the Department of Homeland Security. Fox News host Piet Hegseth will serve as Secretary of Defense while John Ratcliffe will run the CIA and William Joseph McGinley will serve as White House counsel

• Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new ‘Department of Government Efficiency’, which Trump says won’t actually be a government agency. They will, according to Trump, work from outside the government to “achieve sweeping structural reforms and create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before.” Both men already hold lucrative government contracts, leading to questions of an immediate conflict of interest

• Republican representative David Valadao sealed California’s 22nd congressional district, defeating the Democrat Rudy Salasand brings Republicans closer to the 218 mark, which will give them control of the House of Representatives

• The judge inside TrumpThe criminal hush money case in Manhattan has postponed the decision on whether to overturn the conviction on presidential immunity grounds

• Joe BidenIsrael’s government has said it will not halt arms deliveries to Israel, despite eight international aid agencies saying so Benjamin NetanyahuThe US government has failed to meet US demands to increase humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip