WASHINGTON: Elon Musk’s rapid takeover of two U.S. government agencies has enabled the South African-born billionaire to exert unprecedented control over America’s 2.2-million-member federal workforce and begin a dramatic reshaping of government.
The world’s richest man and an ally of President Donald Trump, Musk, 53, has in two weeks created a new center of power in Washington as he executes Trump’s cost-cutting initiative to reduce the size of the U.S. government.
The CEO of Tesla and founder of SpaceX, Musk has acted swiftly since Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, deploying teams of current and former employees of his companies as his agents.
Musk’s actions have fostered a wave of panic among government workers and public protests in Washington and at times have threatened to overshadow Trump’s own agenda.
Trump’s up-and-down trade war with neighboring Canada and Mexico vied this week for space on front pages with Musk’s effort to shut down USAID, America’s main humanitarian aid agency to the world.
Musk’s efforts are part of a massive government restructuring by Trump, who has fired and sidelined hundreds of civil servants in his first steps toward downsizing the bureaucracy and installing more loyalists.
Americans are witnessing “an extraordinary centralization of power in someone who lacks a top-level security clearance and has not been subject to any Senate confirmation process,” said Don Moynihan, a professor at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.
“Musk has unprecedented and centralized control of the basic plumbing of government,” he added.
Nonetheless, Musk operates at Trump’s pleasure. The president told reporters on Monday that the billionaire had to seek approval from the White House for any of his actions.
“Elon can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval, and we’ll give him the approval, where appropriate; where not appropriate, we won’t. But he reports in.”
Asked who they are more worried about when it comes to the prospect of being fired, an employee of the General Services Administration that manages federal property and services said: “Musk. No one is really talking about Trump.”
Trump has put Musk in charge of what both men call the Department of Government Efficiency. Despite its name, it is not a department, Musk does not draw a government salary, and DOGE’s creation immediately drew lawsuits from government unions, watchdogs and public interest groups.
Exactly who makes up DOGE is unclear. The Trump administration has not released a list of DOGE employees. Nor has it said how they are being paid, how many have entered each agency, and whether they are government workers. That raises questions about who they are answerable to – Musk or Trump as head of the executive branch.
Musk and his DOGE lieutenants have taken over the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration along with their computer systems.
OPM is the human resources arm of the U.S. government, overseeing 2.2 million government workers. From there, emails have been sent out in the past week offering federal employees financial incentives to quit. The GSA oversees most government contracts and manages federal property.
At least four current and former Musk aides are part of a team that has taken over OPM, shutting out some senior managers from their own computer systems, sources told Reuters. Musk visited the GSA last Thursday, an official said, while members of his team moved into the agency.
On Friday, a Musk team gained access to the U.S. Treasury Department’s payment system, which sends out more than $6 trillion a year on behalf of federal agencies and contains the personal information of millions of Americans who receive Social Security payments, tax refunds and other monies from government.
Michael Linden, a senior official during the administration of former President Joe Biden at the Office of Management and Budget, a powerful agency that oversees the federal budget, said the access by Musk’s aides to payment systems gives them extraordinary potential power.
“They could get to pick and choose which payments the federal government makes,” Linden said in an interview.
Neither Musk nor the White House immediately responded to a request for comment.
Trump has repeatedly said that the federal bureaucracy is bloated and inefficient, and needs to be downsized. He also accuses many federal workers of being liberal ideologues out to thwart his agenda.
Musk’s critics, including Democratic lawmakers, have accused him of a hostile takeover of government. Federal worker unions sued to block Musk’s access to sensitive computer systems.
CONCLUSION
The rapid takeover of two U.S. government agencies by Elon Musk has raised serious concerns about the concentration of power in the executive branch and the potential for conflicts of interest. The lack of transparency and accountability surrounding DOGE has sparked fears among government workers and sparked protests. The future of the federal government remains uncertain as the administration continues to implement its cost-cutting measures and restructure the bureaucracy.
FAQs
Q: What is the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)?
A: DOGE is a new entity established by President Trump, which is responsible for modernizing federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.
Q: Who makes up DOGE?
A: The composition of DOGE is unclear, as the Trump administration has not released a list of DOGE employees, nor has it disclosed how they are being paid, how many have entered each agency, and whether they are government workers.
Q: What is the role of Elon Musk in DOGE?
A: Musk has been put in charge of DOGE and has deployed teams of current and former employees of his companies as his agents.
Q: What is the impact of DOGE on the federal government?
A: DOGE has taken over the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration, giving it control over the human resources arm of the U.S. government and the management of federal property and services. This has raised concerns about the concentration of power and the potential for conflicts of interest.