Trump tries to put Musk on a leash and bans DOGE’s chainsaw
Summary
Trump has ordered Elon Musk to scale back his aggressive government downsizing efforts, instructing him to use a “scalpel” rather than a “hatchet” when cutting the federal workforce.
Musk has faced backlash for mass firings, accidental cuts to critical programs, and staffing controversies.
Public approval of Musk’s role is declining, with concerns over his influence.
Despite Trump affirming Cabinet authority, he warned departments to make cuts or face Musk’s intervention. Lawsuits and internal resistance continue to challenge DOGE’s sweeping changes.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-shortens-musks-leash-after-doge-chaos-scalpel-rather-than-the-hatchet/Open linkView original on lemmy.world
21 replies
This sounded so reasonable I thought it was The Onion
Who knows, perhaps they are learning to fear again
No, he's being upstaged, and that won't do.
100% this. Musk has dominated the news for the first month of his presidency, i bet he’s fucking furious
This way, all future cuts will seem reasonable by comparison.
“Public approval of Musk’s role is declining“
What public approval for what role?
Musk is insufferable. I've been waiting for the Trump/Musk lover affair to end. This might be some of it.
I would LOVE for Trump to go all anti Musk and cancel SpaceX. I seriously think this is in the future and it's going to be glorious.
"I like Billionaires whose rockets don't asplode."
I'd settle for rockets that explode with billionaires in them.
The dog trying to put a leash on his master.
This is the real meat of the article.
Musk makes changes to federal government.
Unelected private citizen and world’s richest parasite, so trump’s government is facing a swathe of lawsuits and they are afraid.
Trump orders the individual departments to do “exactly as Musk would do” or else he will get someone else to do their job for them.
Basically DOGE is too much of a lawsuit magnet so he’s threatening a broad selection of faceless government departments to do the exact same thing, in the hope it’s harder to trace and sue with class action
why would trump be concerned about law suits? "he is the law"
Trump's ego can't handle feeling like second.
Regardless of what is actually going on, Musk is dominating news cycles just as much or more than Trump.
This will become interesting because Project 2025 doesn't include plans for a third term. They want an "experienced CEO" so most likely Elon.
they want Vance. must is a useful idiot for them
Elon isn't a natural born American citizen. Hell, if they start revoking citizenship for people who lied, he's first on the chopping block.
Assuming they give a fuck about any of that. Which I'm fairly sure they don't.
He is trying to close the barn after all the horses left.
Keep pushing and putting pressure. This is a sign that Trump (or more likely people close to Trump) are starting to see the pressure as more serious. He's seeing backlash from lawsuits & the courts, federal worker unions, protests and people getting loud as hell at Republican town halls, etc.
Don't take their word as truth here instead take it as a sign they might actually be starting to see him as a threat to their power / approval
I almost feel sorry for that Amy scapegoat that will take the fall instead of Elmo