Since President Donald J. Trump’s second inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, Elon Musk — Trump’s billionaire business partner — has engaged in a silent coup of the United States (U.S.) government.
Musk explained the purpose of his new government agency while taking questions in the Oval Office, on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2025. As he stood above President Trump, Musk explained the responsibilities of theDepartment of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Musk ironically called for an end to the “tyranny of the bureaucracy.” He called this the “fourth unconstitutional branch of government … that in a lot of ways has more power than elected representatives.” Bureaucracies are defined as organizations with a hierarchical structure and rigid rules that are made up of non-elected officials. Some examples of bureaucracies include schools, businesses, government agencies and Elon Musk’s new DOGE.
Musk called these agencies undemocratic. And although there is some truth to this, it is extremely ironic. He is now an unelected head of a government agency while circumventing the systems of checks and balances meant to prevent oligarchs from taking form.
With the brigade of billionaires sitting front and center at Trump’s inauguration, it is clear that Trump intends to hand off control over the government to his closest supporters, allowing Musk and others to control government spending.
Despite its name, DOGE is not an official government department and it was established without approval from the appropriate government branches. . DOGE supposedly operates as an ‘advisory board,’ with four employees dedicated to each government agency. A majority of the DOGE staff are young Musk-worshipping tech bros.
Musk — claiming to be a volunteer, according to the White House — is operating as an unpaid special government employee, a designation reserved for employees working for up to 130 days. As a billionaire and the richest man in the world, Musk definitely does not need a White House paycheck.
No one elected Musk into a governmental position, and this new control that big tech companies have over the U.S. government should concern Americans because of the blatant display of nepotism.
The basis of this department is rather vague, as their only task is to increase government efficiency, essentially giving Musk free reign over all government proceedings. As the new puppet master of the American government, Musk’s motivations at DOGE have clearly been ideological, only going after agencies who he disagrees with or those working against Trump’s agenda.
Even Republicans have noticed Musk’s clear ideological motivations. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former Republican director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), told Reuters, “[DOGE is] not going to go into agencies that are doing things they like. They are going into agencies they disagree with.”
Musk, when confronted with quotations regarding transparency, cited the DOGE X account as the main hub for information about the agency. When Musk purchased X, formerly known as Twitter, in 2022, he engaged in a mass firing of over 80 percent of the social media platforms workforce. After acquiring another powerful position, Musk now has the same capability to initiate similar mass layoffs of government employees.
Beginning with agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Agriculture Department, Musk ramped up his initiatives to cut government spending by firing thousands of federal probationary workers who do not receive the same protections as other federal employees. It is disheartening that the richest man in the world has control over the paychecks of America’s lowest paid federal workers.
Officials at the EPA have reportedly fired an overwhelming 388 probationary employees, but some of the largest cuts were to the Energy Department where around 1,000 federal employees were laid off. Additionally, Department of Energy employees, responsible for the maintenance of the western power grid, were fired. Dozens of other government departments received concerning cuts to their workforce that will most definitely hinder the proper functioning of these agencies.
Many of the fired federal employees have expressed concerns about how the termination of their position could impact government services. One such employee was Katherine Tasheff, a web team manager at the Office of Personnel Management, who told the New York Times (NYT) that she was fired in an email.
According to the NYT, Ms. Tasheff “was concerned that the elimination of those positions could leave federal workers struggling to access accurate information on the agency’s website, which provides details about their health insurance plans, retirement benefits and other work force policies.”
In his leadership role at DOGE, Musk now has unprecedented access to governmental and American citizens’ data. DOGE employees reportedly have access to the U.S. government’s payment system, which includes bank account information, Social Security numbers and income tax documents. They have also seized the ability to alter the system’s software, data, transactions and records.
U.S. Congressman Sean Casten led a group of 154 lower house Democrats who signed a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressing concern regarding Elon Musk and his allies’ access to the federal government’s payments system.
The federal government payment system — which is managed by the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Fiscal Service — is responsible for administering trillions yearly in Social Security and Medicare benefits, tax refunds and payments to government contractors.
According to Congressman Casten, this system contains “highly sensitive details about hundreds of millions of Americans.” Musk and his allies are only interested in accessing these payment systems for the advancement of their own agendas. He has made numerous concerning comments that the “government should not fund programs that contradict his personal politics.”
Musk and his staff have already made concerning changes to the programs that process Social Security Social Security beneficiaries and government contractors to make it easier to block payments and hide records of any changes made. This billionaire and social media CEO should not have access or control over Social Security and government data.
Many democratists have called for an investigation into Musk’s conflict of interests with running this department. In his new role Musk has the ability to both oversee and dismantle any government agency that could hinder or cost his business endeavors.
Musk’s nazi salute at President Trump’s inauguration was a clear predictor of his plans for the future. Growing up in apartheid South Africa, Musk knew exactly what he was doing on that stage; he was sending a message to white supremacist everywhere that they have friends in the Oval Office.
Musk is a member of the “PayPal mafia,” a group of influential billionaires with roots to white rule in South Africa who are now hugely influential over U.S. tech and policies. His salute at the inauguration was celebrated by extremists all over the internet.
Several neo-Nazi leaders shared clips of the moment with captions showing their support with his disgusting display of white supremacy. A chapter of the far-right Proud Boys militia group took their own take on the gesture exclaiming, “Hail Trump!” In an environment that not only supports but encourages white supremacy, the administration’s fire right ideologies continue to grow and prosper, a concerning reality for the millions of people of color living in the U.S.
According to Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, “There is no question among white supremacists that Musk was making a Nazi salute.” On a global stage, America has embarrassed themselves. Musk has proven his commitment to white supremacy, a concern for everyone with a conscience.
With Musk pulling the strings of this presidential administration, even his son, X Æ A-Xii, or X, knows who’s really in charge. While taking questions in the Oval Office, X taunted the president, telling him, “You’re not the president, and you need to go away.” This striking statement from the preschooler was most likely something X heard from his father, Elon Musk — a premonition for a future America run by billionaire tech bros.
