In the process, Elon Musk revealed through the same channel the functions and identities of those who occupy the government positions that he judges “useless”. A process which aims “to sow terror and fear among federal employees”said Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 800,000 of the 2.3 million federal civilian employees.
A list published by Elon Musk arouses concern in the United States
Free elbows
Announced as head of new Department of Government Effectiveness (Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE), in the company of Vivek Ramaswamy, another billionaire, Elon Musk will have to make proposals to cream off the civil service of the American federal state. Presented as an extra-governmental agency, the DOGE will have no accountability to Congress which has, in theory, a say on the federal budget. The two billionaires, promoted to auditors of federal agencies which, for the most part, regulate the activities of their companies, also intend to do without the right of scrutiny of the nation’s elected officials. They have free rein and do not hide it. In a column published on November 20 in the Wall Street Journal, they invoke “a decisive electoral mandate and a conservative majority of six to three on the Supreme Court” pour “carry out a structural slimming of the federal government.”
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Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy invoke the use of “the U.S. Constitution, with emphasis on two major Supreme Court rulings issued during President Biden’s term.”in reference to two decisions that limited the power of federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The two directors say they want to quickly submit a list of regulations that they consider abusive “to President Trump, who may, by decree, immediately suspend their application and launch the process of review and cancellation”. Workforce reductions will follow in proportion to the number of regulations removed. Symbolically, the duo plans to have finished this great work by July 4, 2026, for the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States.
Skimming the civil service
The idea did not come out of Donald Trump’s hat. It was Elon Musk who mentioned it, three times, when he interviewed the Republican candidate on his social network X in August. “I think it would be great to have a government efficiency commission that looks at these issues and makes sure that taxpayers’ money – their hard-earned money – is being spent wisely.”he said, before adding: “And I would be happy to participate in such a commission”. “I would love to”replied Donald Trump. “You’re good at skimming.” Elon Musk has boasted that he has laid off 80% of Twitter’s workforce since he acquired the social network. And, during the presidential campaign, he pledged to reduce the state budget by at least $2,000 billion (out of $6,750 billion in spending in 2024).
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The positions taken as well as the omnipresence of the Tesla boss in the fold of Donald Trump, during the campaign and since the election, raise fears of conflicts of interest, as well as wild deregulation. Elon Musk is a claimed libertarian. This current is linked to the origin of the United States, whose colonists revolted against taxes imposed by the British Crown. Libertarians are resistant to all taxes and regulations, considered contrary to individual initiative and the entrepreneurial spirit. He himself does not hide the link between DOGE and his projects: “DOGE is the only way to extend life beyond Earth,” he wrote on his social network X, and to help SpaceX reach Mars more quickly, “if it is not stifled by bureaucracy”.
gullThe Department of Government Effectiveness is the only way to extend life beyond Earth.
An extraordinary influence
“L‘i“Elon Musk’s influence on the federal government is extraordinary, and extraordinarily lucrative”noted in mid-October the New York Times. His companies’ contracts with the Department of Defense have made him unavoidable – “to big to fail” as the adage makes certain companies untouchable. In the field of Defense alone, its companies have contracted orders worth $3 billion from 17 federal agencies. The Pentagon depends on SpaceX, which now dictates the launch schedule for NASA rockets. In 2015, an investigation by Los Angeles Times estimated the total government aid received by Tesla, SpaceX and SolarCity (a company specializing in photovoltaic energy) at $4.9 billion.
Companies in the Musk galaxy have a long history of conflicts with American regulators. According to the New York Timesthe billionaire’s companies have ongoing disputes with five ministries and six government regulatory agencies. During the four years of the Biden presidency, Elon Musk was confronted with Lina Khan, president of the American Antitrust Agency (FTC), particularly following the acquisition of Twitter (now X). His companies Tesla, SpaceX, NeuraLink and X have been targeted by around twenty investigations (some followed by convictions accompanied by fines). Since 2021, two investigations have been launched by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), one relating to potential fraudulent practices linked to Tesla’s declarations concerning its system of driving assistance and the other on possible misleading statements made by Elon Musk to investors concerning the real level of autonomy of Tesla models.
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