According to a disclosure to Congress by Troy Meink, the nominee for secretary of the Air Force, Elon Musk participated in President Donald Trump's interview with Meink - a highly unusual move that raised serious conflict of interest concerns about Musk's role in the selection process. As CEO of SpaceX, Musk has billions of dollars in U.S. national security and defense contracts. These include Pentagon launch contracts, satellite systems, and Trump's proposed missile defense system called the "Golden Dome." But his involvement in personnel decisions for senior positions in the Air Force marks a new level of political influence for the billionaire - a possible violation of ethics rules that discourage contractors from influencing leadership decisions in the agencies that oversee their contracts. "I've never seen anything like this before, where military contractors help screen people who run the Pentagon," said Richard Painter, a former top White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush. "If Musk was involved in the screening of Meinke, Meinke would need to recuse himself from any matters involving Musk's company."