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Will Anyone Stop Elon Musk? - The Tuesday AM Quickie 2/4/25

By Jacob Silverman —

Federal worker unions are suing DOGE. More please. -Jacob

ON THE SHOW TODAY

2/4: It's News Day Tuesday! Sam and Emma break down the biggest headlines of the day.

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Today you'll read about the richest man in the world's continued efforts to seize control of the basic operations of the US government, a reprieve in the trade war, and the latest agencies that may fall to Trump and Musk's wrecking ball.

THE BIG NEWS

Will Anyone Stop Elon Musk's Government Takeover?

Elon Musk's coup of the administrative state – of the basic systems of US government financing – continues apace, with typically disorganized Democrats showing no ability to unite and attempt to stop him. Even the Wall Street Journal acknowledged the obvious transfer of power taking place, offering the headline, "Musk Moves With Lightning Speed to Exert Control Over the Government."

As Wired and others have chronicled, Musk and his Gen Z DOGE cronies are bulldozing their way into offices, using their Trump-fluence to chuck aside any staffers that try to stop them. With the blessing of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, DOGE now has "direct access" to Treasury Department systems that disburse trillions of dollars for Medicaid payments, VA funds, federal grants, salaries of government employees, tax refunds, government contracts, major subsidies – all of it.

Goaded on by ignorant tech executives who have no idea how anything works, QAnon-worshipping retired general Michael Flynn, and whomever else drifts into his blackpilled X feed, Musk has started accusing random recipients of government funds of money laundering and claiming that he will block payments and eliminate organizations he doesn't like. A prime focus continues to be the dismantlement of USAID, whose employees were told not to show up for work. One of yesterday's other targets was 18F, a well-regarded federal tech organization that helped introduce free e-filing of taxes. Its crime was that it was staffed by visibly queer engineers and designers.

Musk and his allies can potentially wield tremendous power through controlling the levers of the administrative state – especially if he's unilaterally directing the flows of billions or trillions of dollars. All of this – obviously! clearly! I mean come on! – is illegal. DOGE personnel are reportedly connecting unsecured computers and servers to sensitive government systems, violating privacy and cybersecurity laws.

"Before our very eyes, an unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer at a news conference on Monday. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Sen. Elizabeth Warren called Musk's access to US government financial systems "extraordinarily dangerous."

Some Democrats assembled outside USAID headquarters and vowed to stop Musk. "Elon Musk, you may have illegally seized power over the financial payments systems of the Treasury, but you don't control the money of the American people," said Rep. Jamie Raskin to tepid applause. "We don't have a fourth branch of government called 'Elon Musk.'"

"This is no way to govern," said Sen. Andy Kim, who once worked for USAID. "What is happening here is illegal."

Dumb Trade War Earns A 30-Day Reprieve

After threatening to levy broad tariffs against our closest allies and trading partners, President Donald Trump reportedly held productive phone calls (separately) with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. He's keeping his powder dry for now, holding off on instituting any tariffs for at least 30 days. In return, the United States' northern and southern neighbors have pledged to further militarize their borders and deepen efforts to stop migrants and fentanyl from crossing into the US. Trump also told Sheinbaum that the US would try to stop the flow of powerful firearms to Mexico, where they're used by cartels and other criminal organizations.

The Department Of Education May Fall Next

The Trump administration is considering an executive order to defund and dismantle the Department of Education, with some of its responsibilities moved to other agencies, according to the Wall Street Journal. Eliminating the Department of Education has been a longtime Republican talking point – you may remember Rick Perry 2011 debate "oops" when he tried to remember the government agencies he wanted to get rid of. The DoE mostly administers aid programs and enforces anti-discrimination laws, making it a juicy target for a MAGA movement that holds educational institutions and the federal government in contempt. More than ninety percent of public education funding comes from states, but destroying the DoE could still have massive deleterious effects and generally isn't a sign of a healthy society with its priorities in order.

QUICKEST QUICKIES

  • Scott Bessent Gets A Second Job On Behalf Of The Ultra-Rich Fresh off his confirmation as Trump's Treasury Secretary, billionaire hedge funder Scott Bessent was named acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Bessent "immediately" told CFPB to stop most of their work, which includes lawsuits and enforcement actions against big banks for defrauding consumers. via NPR.
  • Joe Biden Got A Hollywood Agent Joe Biden, who until recently was President of the United States, signed with the powerhouse talent agency CAA, with whom he's worked before. There will likely be a presidential memoir from Biden, but let's be real: the post-presidential speaking career could prove pretty short-lived. via Variety.
  • Trump Threatens South Africa Over White Farmer Conspiracy Following a vein of conspiratorial bigotry previously mined by South African expat Elon Musk, President Trump made references to South Africa "treating certain classes of people" – i.e. white farmers – "VERY BADLY" and threatened to withhold aid from the country. Musk recently accused South Africa's president of having "openly racist ownership laws." via WaPo and Musk/X.
  • Senate Confirms Fracking Executive As Energy Secretary With some Democratic support, the Senate voted 59-38 to confirm as Energy Secretary Chris Wright, the CEO of Liberty Energy who also sits on the board on a nuclear-reactor company. Under Trump, the Energy Department may do away with some infrastructure projects drawn up by the Biden administration. Wright has previously said that the connection between climate change and severe wildfires was "just hype." via Politico.

SOME NUMBER

50%

That's the percentage increase in microplastics found in brain samples in 2024 compared to 2016. A recent study found that microplastics are now accumulating in people's brains and are particularly numerous in dementia patients. Researchers and medical experts have also found microplastics accumulating in other organs in the human body.

DON'T MISS MR CLIPS‌

Republican's Social Security Lies Backfire Big Time

Social Security could be funded in perpetuity. Republicans just don't want it that way.

Trump's Tariff Scheme Exposes His Contempt For Working Americans

The guy who wants to pass more tax cuts for the wealthy and ultra-rich is not throwing out blanket tariffs to help everyday people.

PARTING WORDS

"[El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele] has agreed to the most unprecedented, extraordinary, extraordinary migratory agreement anywhere in the world.

"He’s also offered to do the same for dangerous criminals currently in custody and serving their sentence in the United States even though they’re U.S. citizens or legal residents."

-- Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaking during a visit with authoritarian Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele, who has overseen the mass imprisonment of tens of thousands of accused gang members in his own country. Having become the world's most incarcerated society, Bukele's El Salvador is now offering to host American prisoners and undesirables as well.

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