WHAT'S GOIN' ON - BULLETIN #10 - Musk "Reshapes" Washington D.C.

President Trump and his sidekick from South Africa are undertaking an administrative and digital coup in Washington D.C., firing dozens of career government officials (not loyal to them,) pardoning convicted criminals, freezing funding programs crucial to human and economic health, illegally pawing for federal fund deposits. I will be running a series of bulletins, shared across multiple platforms, containing bite-sized accounts of what is happening. Call your congressperson and do not sit there as if it's not happening or that nothing can be done about it. Dare to share. It's your democracy.

Bulletin #10

Elon Musk's "reshaping" of the Federal Government is the topic of timid media coverage. Not much discussion of whether his being head of an ersatz Department of Government Efficiency gives him the authority to erase decades-lived federal agencies with ongoing, serious business throughout America and the world.

His people having entered USAID's offices and accessed classified materials without proper clearance is an established fact. That will usually disqualify an operation.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has declared himself "acting administrator" of USAID, throwing shade on Musk's claim that "we're getting rid of it."

USAID's not gone if someone is its acting administrator.

Musk is probably somewhat over his skis by stepping on a Rubio's prerogatives as the guy in charge the agency's $50 billion budget and Rubio won't be alone in feeling pushed around by the South African billionaire.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) has suggested there is a question of Musk stepping on Congressional toes and Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii says he plans to put a "hold" on all of Trump's State Department nominees until the USAID is restored to its pre- "shock and awe" condition.

Senators can do that, because the Founding Whig-wearers knew guys like him roam the political world and needed an institutional brake to slow their designs.

The Trump/Musk executive order storm, while noisy, is as flimsy as their legislative majority, and most of these directives by fiat simply will not carry the force of establish, enacted law.

#et