Elon Musk has an uncanny capability to type out which of America’s guidelines are actual. It seems punishment from the Nationwide Labor Relations Board isn’t real, punishment from NASA isn’t real, and punishment from the FAA isn’t real. The Delaware Chancery Court docket is extremely real. Based mostly on the previous two weeks, the Delaware Chancery Court docket stands out as the solely actual factor in your complete American authorities.
Right here’s a fast recap. Whereas putative President Donald Trump was busy alienating allies through tariffs and wasting water in California — actual mad king hours — Musk pushed out the head of the FAA. Then the stories got here quick and thick: Federal staff acquired a “fork in the road” electronic mail extremely paying homage to Musk’s Twitter ultimatum, encouraging them to resign, despatched from an insecure server. A bunch of goons, a few of them actual teenagers, reportedly acquired access to the US Treasury systems. (Learn-only, reportedly, for now.) Longtime civil servants had been locked out of the personnel programs that, by the way in which, home the private information for presidency staff. Musk’s lackeys are in charge of the Workplace of Personnel Administration and the Basic Companies Administration. They’ve gotten ahold of classified information, and are actually shutting down the US Company for Worldwide Growth (USAID). Musk said he “spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wooden chipper.”
Did I get all the things? In all probability not. As an illustration, Musk has made statements that he “deleted” a division, for example, however since he’s a known liar, that will not be true. Between no matter Musk is posting about on X, the tempo at which occasions are occurring, and the overall confusion amongst authorities staff, giving a full summation of occasions is not possible. Maybe between the time that is printed and also you learn it, there will probably be extra bullshit.
The clear aim right here quantities to a coup over the executive state
Nonetheless, primarily based on the occasions which have transpired to date, it appears the clear aim right here quantities to a coup over the executive state. My editor jogs my memory that lots of you weren’t paying consideration in civics class and so: our authorities’s famed checks and balances system depends on Congress controlling spending. Musk’s job was initially framed as making suggestions for applications that Congress may minimize.
The current Trump administration, which additionally didn’t concentrate in civics class, both doesn’t know or doesn’t care about checks and balances. First, it tried to freeze spending with a authorized pronouncement. That was rapidly halted by several courts. Then Musk determined to bust into the paperwork and begin ripping out wires — a technical resolution to a authorized drawback.
If I needed to destroy democracy within the US, I’m unsure what I’d do in a different way.
Does that sound like liberal hysteria? Okay, right here’s Brian Riedl, an economist who works for the conservative Manhattan Institute, and earlier than that, the Heritage Basis and Republican Senator Rob Portman: “I see lots of people need to throw out 230 years of constitutional authorities and substitute it with an authoritarian dictator as a result of they’ve huge emotions concerning the finances and might’t be bothered to work by Congress.”
Musk’s chaos is compounding different crises
At Musk’s purposeful firms — SpaceX and to a point, Tesla — he’s put in a playpen the place he can’t harm the actual work. At Twitter, we saw what happened when there was no padding between him and the corporate: he started switching issues off at random, firing engineers willy-nilly (after which attempting to rehire them), and turning its income into a large bonfire. Now Musk has introduced this technique to the federal authorities.
Probably the most rapid penalties have been borne by USAID, whose applications embrace George W. Bush’s effort to look after HIV sufferers in Africa — one that’s reputed to have saved 20 million lives to date. The constructing housing USAID has been shuttered. An electronic mail explaining the transfer attributed it to “company management,” and replies to the e-mail “ought to be directed to an electronic mail handle that seems to be related to Gavin Kliger, whose LinkedIn profile identifies him as a particular adviser to the director of the Workplace of Personnel Administration and who works for DOGE,” in keeping with The Wall Road Journal.
And Musk’s chaos is compounding different crises. Take the 2 airplane crashes in main cities final week — one in DC and one in Philadelphia. Days earlier, Musk had pushed out the head of the FAA, who had fined SpaceX for not getting its launch adjustments authorized. The overwhelming majority of air traffic control facilities are understaffed, so it does appear bizarre that simply days earlier than the primary crash, those that were on staff had been offered buyouts. After the second crash, a observe went out saying air site visitors controllers had been exempt from a hiring freeze that came about after Trump took workplace.
Think about once more the Twitter playbook — as a result of that is just the start. Let’s say Musk will get direct entry to treasury funds, which appears very more likely to be his purpose. Will he cease paying payments, as he did with Twitter’s leases? Could be enjoyable to find what the army does after they don’t get their paychecks, or what number of grandparents get evicted when the Social Safety checks don’t exit. What number of of Musk’s unsecured servers do you suppose overseas spies have penetrated already? All of them, possibly?
The actual query is: who will cease him?
As for the Treasury stuff — nicely, if I had been a authorities contractor that wasn’t SpaceX, I’d be nervous. I imply, when you upset Musk, do you suppose he’s going to pay out your contracts on time?
Does Musk have the authority to do that? Doesn’t matter. As we all know from earlier Musk expertise, the actual query is: who will cease him? Thus far the reply seems to be nobody. The CIA, FBI, and NSA seem like doing nothing. The US attorney’s office in DC is threatening people and teams who “seem to violate the legislation in focusing on DOGE staff.” The Democratic social gathering is making strongly worded statements and issuing letters of concern.
The stiffest resistance Musk is attending to his unconstitutional romp by the inside workings of the American authorities is from the workers themselves — each through union lawsuits and thru a easy refusal to do as he asks. Some employees are additionally suing over the insecure server for the “fork within the highway” electronic mail. Two unions, the AFL-CIO and the SEIU, are suing the Treasury and Scott Bessent “to halt Defendants’ illegal ongoing, systematic, and steady disclosure of non-public and monetary data contained in Defendants’ information to Elon Musk.”
We’re all presupposed to fake that is occurring within the title of effectivity and cost-savings, and never as a manner for Musk to pursue his shitty private feuds. How posting to X in any respect hours of the day is environment friendly is a query I’m unsure anybody can reply, however then, it’s type of one of many extra minor questions on this state of affairs. And after I say “this state of affairs,” I imply that Elon Musk goes to do no matter he desires, and put up by it, and threaten anybody who tries to cease him with, apparently, a US lawyer.
“Laws, principally, ought to be default gone.”
Donald Trump, Musk’s wholly owned puppet, has said Musk won’t do anything without his approval. Positive. Okay. I don’t see what distinction that makes. All of us keep in mind “executive time,” don’t we? This man solely desires to golf and watch TV.
However don’t fear, there’s to be a new sovereign wealth fund, which looks like an exquisite place for Musk and his Silicon Valley buddies to siphon off authorities cash, cash that’s now not getting used for wasteful functions like Meals on Wheels or the Head Start program. And Musk’s failing X might be propped up by making it the official supply of presidency communications. Oh, and “laws, principally, ought to be default gone,” Musk said on a midnight rant on X. On this surroundings, The Onion’s headline “Elon Musk Offers Self $10 Billion Federal Buyout” reads extra like a prediction than satire.
What’s good for Musk isn’t good for the remainder of us. His factories are famously unsafe locations to work. After he purchased Twitter, he drove out safety professionals — making the platform extra vulnerable to fraud. SpaceX has been busily polluting Texas. All through the years he’s been very clear: he’s going to do no matter he desires, regardless of the penalties.
Now he’s bringing that sensibility to the federal authorities. So long as Musk doesn’t have the ability to cease funds, he hasn’t utterly succeeded. About 90-odd years after the original Business Plot — to overthrow President Franklin Roosevelt and set up a dictator — Musk seems to be fairly near ending the job. So right here’s the query: are there any actual guidelines in America, in any respect?
