Spies Like Us
We may be just scratching the surface now.
Musk says Trump has "agreed" to shut USAID down
We’re just scratching the surface of what may turn out to be massive lack of oversight of hundreds of billions of dollar of spending.
‘She suggested if there are "truly good pro-American programs, let's move them to the State Department," to which Musk replied: "Exactly."
‘Ernst emphasized the need for oversight while giving examples of what she said were her findings of waste in USAID, while Ramaswamy said there was a need for the agency's "deletion."
‘Musk said he was looking to shut USAID down because it's "a bowl of worms" with no apple, so you've "got to get rid of the whole thing" because it's "beyond repair."’
Donald Trump wiped out dozens of Joe Biden’s climate initiatives in first-week blitz
Easy come, easy go.
‘US President Donald Trump eliminated more than 70 climate and green energy initiatives in his first week of office, launching a sweeping and aggressive move to dismantle Joe Biden’s climate and industrial legacy.’
Trump Advisers Weigh Plan to Dismantle Education Department
Don’t say they didn’t warn you.
This should devolve power to the states. Look for more diversity in approaches and outcomes.
Absent a legislative act disbanding the agency, DOGE can hollow it out and move its core functions to other departments like Labor.
‘The officials have discussed an executive order that would shut down all functions of the agency that aren’t written explicitly into statute or move certain functions to other departments, according to people familiar with the matter. The order would call for developing a legislative proposal to abolish the department, the people said. Trump’s advisers are debating the specifics of the order and the timing, the people said.‘
It’s astonishing how much the new Administration appears to have learned.
‘The real driver of change in how the government operates, however, is not Elon Musk but Russ Vought, the presumptive new director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the personnel initiatives that are coming directly from the White House. There has been a blizzard of executive orders very cleverly designed to skirt the legal challenges that faced the original Schedule F. One of these effectively resurrects Schedule F and gives it a new name: “Schedule Policy/Career.” The order instructs Vought to “promptly recommend to the President which positions should be placed in Schedule Policy/Career,” though it is not yet clear who will be targeted.
‘The administration has focused its efforts on key leadership positions like the 8,000 or so members of the Senior Executive Service who constitute the experienced core of the permanent bureaucracy, as well as a number of officials with “for cause” protection like the head of the Internal Revenue Service, and 17 Inspectors General who were fired last month from different departments. “For cause” protection means that the official cannot be removed except under specific and severe conditions, like committing a crime or behaving corruptly. Now, many individuals have been moved in effect into Schedule F because they are said to serve at the pleasure of the president.’
It’s a simple message: if you want government to work, you have to reform it.
So far, it’s a unilateral movement.
Everyone should want a functioning government, pruned of bad regulation and downsized into fighting shape. It’s telling that people are reacting to this politically.
‘I’m a bit tired of how reasonable-sounding concerns around government efficiency and effectiveness get shoehorned into a witch hunt for government waste. There are serious problems with how the federal government’s processes and regulations harm economic growth and the effectiveness of important social-welfare programs. I’m skeptical that focusing on budget cuts does much to change that, but I’m also frustrated that it seems the only political actors talking about this seriously are on the right.’
DOGE and the budget audit of doom
Politicians and civil servants may have underestimated the way in which these kinds of individuals attack impossible problems.
‘DC lacks even a model to guess at how effective people like this can be even when fighting from the outside. with the keys to the kingdom, it’s something else entirely. they sheer energy and activity of DOGE is staggering the swamp dwellers.
‘being crawled over by AI and insight and energy of this magnitude is a new new thing.
‘welcome to “dismantle leviathan” the fun new game that all the cool kids are playing.’
This is actually fraud, by the sounds of it.
‘DOGE: Career civil service 'workers' barely 'working' from home who got second full-time jobs should be worried. The IRS knows which federal employees are receiving two W2s - dual full-time employment for federal employees is rarely allowed and violates at least five federal laws.’
Elon Musk vows to cancel grants after gaining access to US Treasury payment system
Again, this is about the data.
‘The system has been run by career civil servants and the Treasury already has an in-house team tasked with identifying fraudulent payments. A source with knowledge of the situation said that Doge representatives did not have the authority to cut payments, only to read the data.’
DOGE Gains Access to Payment System Doling Out Trillions to Americans
Follow the data, dude.
‘Musk and DOGE have moved aggressively to exert control over the federal government’s back-office functions since Inauguration Day, following a cost-cutting blueprint he used when he bought Twitter. Musk has shown an eagerness to dive into agencies that make the administration run. That includes the Office of Personnel Management, the government’s human-resources arm, and the General Services Administration, which manages federal buildings.
‘Former Treasury officials said it is unusual for political appointees to be involved in the administration of the payment network, which includes a rigorous protocol to ensure the security and privacy of payment operations.’
Ron Wyden is worried that Elon Musk may be a Chinese agent, among other concerns he harbors over DOGE having access to the payments system.
The payments system has the data. The data shows where the bodies are buried.
‘According to Wyden’s letter, the payments system “simply cannot fail, and any politically-motivated meddling in them risks severe damage to our country and the economy.”
‘In his letter, Wyden said he was concerned that Musk’s extensive business operations in China “endangers U.S. cybersecurity” and creates conflicts of interest that “make his access to these systems a national security risk.”’
Musk Moves With Lightning Speed to Exert Control Over the Government
Shoot first and ask questions later.
‘“This is completely unprecedented,” said Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer under former President George W. Bush. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”’
Musk takes aim at GSA tech shop
It is shocking how quickly Musk figured out where to go. Perhaps it shouldn’t be.
‘On Monday, Musk re-posted another account calling the General Services Administration’s 18F team a “far left government wide computer office” that helped build “Elizabeth Warren’s ‘Direct File’ tax program,” saying in his repost “that group has been deleted.”’
Trump brushes back Musk as Democrats plot DOGE resistance
This was always true, one hopes. It’s weird that it needs to be stated. There are plenty of conspiracy theories flying around.
‘Trump, who has yet to make an official statement on USAID's future, appeared to damper Musk's ambitious plans, telling reporters the billionaire can't take action without "our approval."’
A State Legislative Nudge Toward Regulatory Excellence
Regulatory skepticism is in bloom.
‘As a result of the bill’s passage, all administrative agencies in New Hampshire will now have to implement two simple but long-overdue improvements. First, each agency will have to create a website, similar to but not necessarily as elaborate as the familiar Regulations.gov that most federal agencies have used since 2003. The website will house all comments on proposed rulemakings from interested persons More importantly, agencies will have to cease writing response documents that summarize concerns raised by the public and in which the agencies explain why they rejected important criticisms via perfunctory brush-offs. Instead, the new law will require agencies to explain how each “comment influenced the final rule,” or if it did not influence the final rule, to provide a “detailed explanation that includes the facts, data, interpretations, and policy choices that justify why the adopting agency did not amend the rules.”’
Democratic States Are Wards of Washington
First it was SALT deductibility and now this. The states who bleat the most about this are not sounding very sustainable.
‘The uproar last week over the Trump administration’s short-lived pause on federal grants exposed how dependent Democratic states and cities have become on Washington handouts. Call it a welfare trap.’
Rohit Chopra Is Out. Now Shutter the CFPB
Will CFPB be the next agency on the chopping block? Trump may have the legal wherewithal to make it happen given the backdoor bulletproof funding mechanism that was put in place at its founding.
‘Mr. Trump should go a step further and shut the CFPB down. As I pointed out in these pages in May, the bureau is operating illegally. Congress mandated that it be funded by the earnings of the Federal Reserve, but there have been no earnings since the Fed began incurring losses in September 2022 due to rising interest rates. These losses currently total $219.6 billion. The CFPB’s defense, in 13 pending enforcement cases where defendants have raised the illegality of funding, is that “earnings” really means revenue, an absurd claim under accounting standards. It is telling that the Fed, the source of illegal funding, has been silent on the issue.
‘Since the bureau is operating illegally, the president can close it immediately by executive order. The order should declare that all work at the CFPB will stop, that all rules enacted since funding became illegal in September 2022 are void, and that no remaining rules will be enforced.’
Rohit Chopra Is Ousted, at Last
Chopra exercised an extraordinary amount of power, so of course he thinks he was Robin Hood.
‘“With so much power concentrated in the hands of a few, agencies like the CFPB have never been more critical,” Mr. Chopra wrote Saturday. “I’m proud that the CFPB has done so much to restore the rule of law.”
‘This will be news to the businesses that have sued the CFPB and won in court. Mr. Chopra was issuing new regulations willy-nilly in the days before Mr. Trump took power, and some wouldn’t survive legal scrutiny.’