The Watchmen
Who watches the watchers? Elon and Vivek, apparently.
There is huge skepticism from the Big Forehead crowd about the ability to find $2 trillion in spending cuts.
These two are not like Al Gore. Let’s see what they can do.
‘Last year, Ramaswamy – who had promised on the campaign trail to eliminate the FBI, the Department of Education and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which would lay off thousands of federal workers in the process – released a white paper outlining a legal framework he said would allow the president to eliminate federal agencies of his choice.
‘Musk, for his part, said while supporting Trump on the campaign trail that he’d pitch a massive rollback of government regulations, of which he has long griped. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has also floated an assessment system that threatens layoffs to wasteful employees and proposed offering generous severance packages to laid-off government workers.’
Trump Picks Musk, Ramaswamy for Government Efficiency Effort
Who audits the auditors?
‘Trump said in a statement Tuesday night that Ramaswamy and Musk—the wealthiest person in the world, who oversees six companies—would lead what the president-elect called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The group’s mandate is to streamline government bureaucracy, the president-elect said.
‘DOGE will operate outside of the federal government, Trump said, and will work with the White House Office of Management and Budget to implement its recommendations.’
Donald Trump picks Elon Musk for new cost-cutting role
Musk proposes cutting “hundreds” of agencies.” Huge, if true.
How much of this action will require legislative approval? If so, what’s the plan for them?
‘Musk, who also founded SpaceX and Tesla, recently called for at least $2tn in cuts to US federal spending, nearly a third of the government's budget, without offering specifics. He has also proposed eliminating hundreds of federal agencies, arguing that many of them have overlapping areas of responsibility.’
I can see the symbolism of delivering mass de-bureaucratization by July 4, 2026. But it’s not a lot of time.
The task sounded Herculean to begin with.
The deadline will spur the DOGE team to be brutal.
‘According to Trump, Elon Musk and Ramaswamy will wrap up their work no later than July 4, 2026 — the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.’
Unraveling Trump’s impact on tech regulation
Are the states going to be the next battleground for regulation? Aren’t they already?
‘Besides other areas where Trump could have an impact, from autonomous vehicles to digital health supervision, the more intriguing question is whether federal supervision matters that much. As we witnessed the past couple of years with crypto, when there is gridlock at the federal level, states often step in, such as New York implementing its own stablecoin framework as Congress dragged its feet. According to Tusk, the state and municipal level is where the “vast majority” of tech regulation happens. And the result is often just a confusing patchwork of state laws.
‘That’s likely where the battles over technology oversight, from AI to content moderation, are likely to occur over the next four years. “When we’re in a world of a perceived completely dysfunctional Washington, D.C., some states tend to be the ones to step into the void,” Tusk said. ‘
The Biden-Harris Race-Preference Regime
Students for Fair Admissions came out against racial preferences in college admissions.
Can racial preferences in employment and other enterprise functions be up next?
‘In a report titled “Equity Everywhere,” the group Do No Harm reviews the DEI policies of federal agencies. From the Department of Defense to the Marine Mammal Commission, it documents dozens of examples of overt racial preferences in more than 80 federal entities. The information comes from publicly available “Equity Action Plans” undertaken to comply with Biden Administration priorities.’
Why are so many AI regulations wrong?
The “experts” aren’t consulting the experts when it comes to AI regulation.
‘So when he says that regulators are focusing on the wrong things when it comes to AI policies, he knows what he's talking about. He says that AI regulations were not written or supported by people who understand AI tech best, including academics and the companies building AI products. He's concerned that bills, like California's SB 1047, pander to people's fears about AI, rather than look at what the tech is actually doing now.
‘“Transformative technologies and regulation has been this ongoing discourse for decades, right? So the thing with all the AI discourse is it seems to have kind of come out of nowhere,” he told the crowd at Disrupt 2024. “They’re kind of trying to conjure net-new regulations without drawing from those lessons.”‘
Likely Trends in U.S. Tech and Media Regulation Under the New Trump Administration
It won’t be all regulatory cuts. There will be increased regulation to ensure conservative priorities.
‘On the one hand, media and telecommunications companies that have long been regulated heavily by the FCC can likely expect a more deregulatory environment than they have experienced under the Biden Administration (with potential caveats). On the other, large technology companies, which have largely avoided heavy-handed regulation, can expect to face a more active regulatory environment aimed at limiting or preventing content moderation decisions that the incoming Administration has characterized as “censorship” of conservative viewpoints. Meanwhile, bipartisan priorities—such as the commitment to ensuring national security in the telecommunications sector—will likely continue to be a major focus of regulatory agencies. While the assessments of regulatory risks and opportunities will continue to be refined and updated as the next Trump administration takes shape, we highlight here a few trends that are likely to influence policy and regulation at the FCC over the next four years.’
Spirit Air Nears Bankruptcy That Would Wipe Out Shareholders
Spirit is like a patient that goes into the hospital with chest pains. The doctor recommends installing a stent. The patient agrees. Only for someone on the hospital’s ethics committee to rule it out. Spirit subsequently has a heart attack, requiring more invasive treatment.
When the antitrust authorities blocked the JetBlue acquisition of Spirit, which would have prompted some well-needed consolidation I the low-cost carrier space. Now, it’s filing Chapter 11 after another failed deal in the low-cost carrier space, this time with Frontier. Selling off planes and cutting costs means cutting routes. Leading to less competition at the low-end. Just as was feared by the antitrust authorities.
We had to destroy the village to save it.
‘Spirit said in a filing late Tuesday that it’s in advanced talks with a super majority of its secured noteholders to hammer out a restructuring. That would be carried out in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private talks.’
Welcome to the Donald Trump Era of Crypto
The crypto industry certainly figured out how to lobby.
‘On Monday morning, the research firm Bernstein came out with some advice about crypto for its Wall Street clients: “Buy everything you can.” Ever since the invention of bitcoin 15 years ago, this would be the kind of bloodshot, crazy-eyed call you could ignore because it was coming from a fanatic. But Bernstein is not some crypto-pilled boiler-room operation. Rather, it is part of the staid French investment bank Societe Generale and traces its history back to the 1960s, when the U.S. was still on the gold standard. The paper immediately ricocheted around the finance industry. When I started writing this column, bitcoin was testing new highs above $82,000; by the time I finished, it had eclipsed $88,000. When you look at the sheer volume of trading, it was probably crypto’s biggest day ever.’
Crypto Industry Lobbies Trump and His Allies to Capitalize on Election Wins
Crypto may end up being a buyer beware type of regulatory approach. We will assume that you are sophisticated if you are buying crypto. There will be labels on the white papers and in the exchanges to that effect.
We eventually settled the Wild West.
‘The result is likely to be a drastic shift in U.S. policy toward the crypto industry, which has been tarnished by financial scandals, corporate bankruptcies and white-collar frauds that cost consumers billions of dollars in lost savings. Before the election, a set of super PACs financed by crypto executives spent about $135 million to influence more than 50 congressional races, helping elect dozens of pro-crypto candidates.’