The White House should be trying to minimize any influence from powerful billionaires, but right now, the exact opposite is happening. President Donald Trump has given an enormous amount of power to Elon Musk, making him the lead of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk is the world’s wealthiest person who owns multiple companies such as SpaceX, Tesla and X, formerly known as Twitter. His overwhelming presence in the tech industry should not overlap or interfere with governmental actions. He is what is considered to be a “special government employee,” an Executive Branch employee who is recruited by the federal government for their outside expertise.
Trump created DOGE on Jan. 20 with the goal to drastically cut federal spending on “wasteful” initiatives. He wants to eliminate programs that differ from his own policies and reduce the federal workforce. The temporary organization plans to spend 18 months carrying out its mission and has already canceled diversity, equity and inclusion contracts, which is a major setback for minorities and people of color.
To make matters more extreme, Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday, giving Musk even more control over the federal workforce. The order states that federal agencies must consult with DOGE about cutting jobs and limiting hiring in order to pursue large-scale reductions.
As Trump signed the order in the Oval Office, the tech billionaire stood next to him and defended DOGE’s objectives.
“The people voted for major government reform, and that’s what the people are going to get,” he stated. “They’re going to get what they voted for.”
Musk claimed that it is essential that the federal government cuts spending, but someone who proceeds to do so at the expense of others is not a trustworthy person. He also said that some of his statements he issues will be incorrect, referencing his false utterance about the U.S. sending $50 million dollars worth of condoms to Gaza.
It has been speculated that Musk may be engaging in conflicts of interest with his private businesses, such as SpaceX, that receive billions in government contracts. Without transparency, the true operations of DOGE will not be fully known. Musk said the answer to whether he is benefitting from the organization or not can be left up to the public, claiming that it is obvious.
Along with the scrutinization, the rapid reduction of government programs has led to several lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the new, temporary organization and its leader.
Two unions and an advocacy group filed a lawsuit on Feb. 3 stating that the Treasury Department had unlawfully granted Musk and DOGE access to U.S. taxpayers’ private personal data. Since then, a federal judge in New York has blocked them from accessing those records.
Musk’s unmerited authority is creating disastrous predicaments for our country and setting unprecedented situations. His actions leading DOGE pose a national threat to citizens’ equality, privacy and security. This partnership between Trump and Musk is one that will leave Americans crying for salvation.
This story was written by Rachel Lopera. She can be reached at rachel.lopera@marquette.edu
