The appointment of Elon Musk within the Trump administration, in order to make a cut of 2,000 billion dollars in American public spending, will not be without creating turmoil in the American economy. The billionaire should not hesitate to favor his companies like Space X, Tesla and X, at the risk of generating significant conflicts of interest.
The appointment of Elon Musk within the Trump administration worries, but also fascinates. In short, it does not leave you indifferent. The richest man in the world has a mission: to reduce American public spending by a third, or a cut of 2,000 billion dollars, in just two years.
President-elect Donald Trump wants to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026. The one who will be inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, 2025 compares the appointment of Elon Musk to the “Manhattan Project”, which allowed the development and therefore the explosion of the atomic bomb during the Second World War. A bomb that must explode the American “bureaucracy”.
This anti-administration discourse is increasingly attractive across the Atlantic. You may remember Javier Milei from his campaign last year. The Argentine president wore a chainsaw to symbolize the cut in public spending.
In France too, Éric Ciotti took up this image, only three weeks ago. Before that, Valérie Pécresse used another gardening tool, the axe. The Minister of Public Service Guillaume Kasbarian also welcomed the appointment of Elon Musk on the social network (owned by the billionaire, NDRL). “I look forward to sharing with you best practices for dealing with excess bureaucracy,” he wrote to her in English.
Paired with Vivek Ramaswamy
In what framework will Elon Musk act? In pair, with the ultraliberal entrepreneur and climate skeptic Vivek Ramaswamy. The boss of Tesla was appointed to head a “department of government efficiency”, or in other words the DOGE. A nod to DogeCoin, a cryptocurrency popular with Elon Musk.
Note that this is not strictly speaking the creation of a ministry, only the American Congress is authorized to do so. Thus, Elon Musk and his DOGE could do without a confirmation vote by the Senate. It is even very likely that he will be able to remain at the head of his companies, Tesla, X and Space X.
Guillaume Kasbarian congratulates Elon Musk: shocking? – 14/11
At the risk of creating major conflicts of interest. The boss of Space X will influence the budget and, for example, the choices of NASA, his client. The one who has always castigated the administration's standards, while pocketing billions of dollars with his autonomous Teslas, now has the upper hand.
It’s also a return on investment. Remember that Elon Musk contributed around a hundred million dollars to Donald Trump's campaign. The president-elect made other notable appointments, rewarding those who supported him and remained loyal to him.
Loyalty to Trump rewarded
Kristi Noem, Governor of South Dakota, has been appointed to Homeland Security. She regularly distinguishes herself with heavy weapons and was controversial for having shot her dog deemed disobedient. On defense, Pete Hegseth, 44 years old. He is an anchor on the conservative Fox News channel and organized prayers on set. He has regularly stood out for his misogyny or homophobia.
The announcements have not stopped since the re-election of Donald Trump. Senator Marco Rubio has just been appointed secretary of state and the president-elect has not yet finished rewarding his supporters.
