AMNA NAWAZ: President Trump handed more power over to Elon Musk yesterday, giving the billionaire and his team oversight over hiring decisions across every government agency.

GEOFF BENNETT: And as Musk's power grows, he continues to post misleading or false accusations against government agencies to his more than 200 million followers on his social media platform, X.

During an appearance in the Oval Office, Musk was asked about his false claim that USAID planned to allot $50 million for condoms in Gaza before his team stopped it.

Musk said this: ELON MUSK, Owner, X: Well, first of all, some of the things that I say will be incorrect and should be corrected.

So, nobody is going to bat 1000.

GEOFF BENNETT: Hours later, he continued to amplify the same debunked claim.

Three weeks into this administration, President Trump has given Elon Musk enormous power over government agencies that the billionaire's companies do business with.

Our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, is here with a closer look at the intersection of his government and private sector work and the potential conflicts of interest all of that brings.

It's good to see you.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Good to be here.

GEOFF BENNETT: So, how much do Elon Musk's companies make from his federal government contracts?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Elon Musk owns six companies, including X, the social media site, as well as Neuralink, the brain implant company.

But the two that benefit the most from government contracts are the rocket ship company SpaceX and Tesla, the electric car company.

And, in all, Musk's companies have been awarded more than $13 billion in government contracts over the last five years.

That includes $3.8 billion in government contracts awarded in 2024.

And a lot of those contracts are with the Defense Department and NASA, Geoff.

And Musk's Defense Department contracts are estimated to be in the billions.

We don't have that full number, given that some of that -- those details are classified.

GEOFF BENNETT: More recently, Elon Musk and his DOGE allies have targeted the FAA and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

How does his work there present a conflict of interest?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: President Trump has said that Musk has free rein to slash spending, as well as the work force.

So, first, with the FAA, they regulate SpaceX.

And, last fall, they proposed that SpaceX should be fined with more than $600,000 for licensing violations.

The FAA is also currently investigating SpaceX for some safety violations, so, again, potentially damaging some of Musk's businesses.

Now, with the consumer watchdog, CFPB, Musk has called for its elimination entirely, posting on X: "Rip to CFPB."

And Musk and his team are leading the efforts to dismantle that consumer watchdog.

The White House recently ordered for all work to stop there.

So why is this a possible conflict for Musk's personal interests?

Well, for years, Musk has been trying to turn X into an everything app.

That includes a digital wallet for people to send money to each other.

And that digital wallet known as X Money is expected to launch later this year.

CFPB is the main federal financial regulator of digital payment systems like that.

And so Musk's X Money business would stand to potentially benefit from a weakened CFPB.

GEOFF BENNETT: Is there any evidence that Elon Musk is already personally benefiting from his work with the Trump administration?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So, a recent New York Times report found that the Trump administration has fired officials or issued halt-work orders at least 11 federal agencies.

And those federal agencies have more than 32 ongoing investigations, pending complaints or enforcement actions into Musk's six companies.

I spoke to Eric Lipton, who co-authored that report, and he summed it up this way: ERIC LIPTON, The New York Times: Across the landscape of the federal government, there have been changes in oversight through firings by President Trump or departures through the transition that have brought real benefit to Elon Musk and his companies, that there are lawsuits, there are investigations, there are pending matters that he is less likely to be fined on as a result of or punished as a result of.

And there is real benefit that Elon Musk has already achieved.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So there is no direct evidence so far that Elon Musk has personally directed those firings, even though DOGE has been involved in some of them.

But Lipton said that Musk's businesses are still benefiting from these firings.

GEOFF BENNETT: Are there any guardrails, any constraints for Elon Musk, apart from President Trump potentially saying he's had enough?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Well, there don't appear to be any guardrails, Geoff.

And standing next to President Trump in the Oval Office yesterday, Elon Musk suggested that he and his team will figure out for themselves if there are potential conflicts of interest.

ELON MUSK: Well, all of our actions are -- are fully public.

So if you see anything, you say, like, wait a second, hey, Elon, that doesn't -- that seems like maybe that's -- there's a conflict there, I felt like people aren't going to be shy about saying that.

They will say it immediately.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Essentially saying there that he can police himself.

But one of the main guardrails was weakened.

And that's the firing of inspectors general across the board, which Trump fired more than 17 so far.

And they are a key part of investigating whether government employees have complied with ethics laws or if companies who have government contracts have complied or are complying with the law.

And I spoke to ethics lawyer Richard Painter, who served in the George W. Bush administration, and he said Elon Musk cannot be touching CFPB, that consumer watchdog bureau, because he could potentially be in a lot of trouble with the criminal conflicts of interest law that is currently in statute.

Now, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about that today and she said that she has not seen that law and that they trust that Elon Musk is following the law.

Ultimately, Geoff, it's impossible to know the full scope of Musk's potential conflicts of interest and how his control over these government systems could personally benefit him, because Musk has said and the White House has said that he is not going to be publicly releasing his financial disclosures.

He is just going to be filling out that paperwork for the White House.

GEOFF BENNETT: OK. Laura Barron-Lopez, thanks, as always.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Thank you.