Trump signs order to give Musk more power in purge of civil servants

WashingtonA declaration of intent amid the assault on the United States' democratic system. Elon Musk appeared from the Oval Office on Tuesday, alongside one of his sons and President Donald Trump, to defend the cuts he is carrying out against federal workers. The billionaire has insisted on the supposed legitimacy of the actions carried out by his DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) working group, many of which violate the law and have been blocked by the courts, while the president has been issuing a new executive order to make his work easier.

Musk, who is not an elected official, but a government advisor, has attacked officials saying that they are an "unelected fourth branch." On the contrary, he assured that DOGE's actions respond to the democratic will: "The people voted in favor of an important government reform and this is what the people are going to have. That's what democracy is about."

The reality is that Musk's incursion into federal agencies is an attack on the principles of separation of powers. The dismantling of the international cooperation agency USAID is a flagrant example, since its closure can only be approved through Congress. The executive branch has no powers, much less an external group like the one Musk leads. Even though it is called the Department of Government Efficiency, it is not a real department. In fact, a judge already blocked the administrative licenses of some 2,000 USAID employees on Friday. In total, the agency has more than 10,000 workers around the world.

Trump has asked Musk to explain to reporters some of the "crazy" numbers DOGE has found during his forays. The billionaire was only able to respond vaguely and, without evidence, claimed that some people are "getting rich at the expense of taxpayers." The owner of X has insisted that federal workers must be held accountable and the deficit must be addressed. In his view, the task force's unilateral actions towards the administration is a matter of "common sense" and not a "draconian" measure. Musk is trying to apply to federal employees the same playbook he used to fire much of Twitter's staff when he bought the platform.

More power to Musk

The White House released the order, dubbed "Implementation of the President's 'Department of Government Efficiency' Workforce Optimization Initiative," after the signing. The order gives Musk more power and codifies DOGE's actions. Trump writes that federal agencies will have to receive DOGE's approval in order to hire more workers. That is, Musk will have the final say in awarding contracts. The only exception is for agencies involved in immigration and law enforcement.

The document states that only "one employee can be hired for every four that are laid off." It also stipulates that DOGE must submit "a monthly report of hiring" made. Trump also demands that senior agency officials cooperate in staff cuts. "Agency heads will be required to immediately begin preparations to initiate large-scale workforce reductions," the text states. The president is asking for compliance with orders of dubious legality, since officials have a series of rights and protections and cannot be fired so easily.

Another issue is the future of federal employees outsourced through contracting companies. When the dismantling of the humanitarian cooperation agency USAID began, These were the first to fall. In fact, in the decree, the tycoon urges to "prioritize" the cuts in "all offices that perform functions not mandated by statute or other law [...] including all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives of the agency," as well as all those "initiatives or operations of the agencies" that his administration "closes."

Conflict of interest

Musk, owner of Space X and Telsa - which have received millions of dollars in federal contracts and grants - does not see a conflict of interest in leading the task force that leads the cuts in agencies that either oversee his companies or have some kind of contract with them. "Transparency is what generates trust," the billionaire has said, rejecting the possibility. This Tuesday it was learned that there will be opacity regarding his declaration of interests and assets, something unusual.

Musk's clashes with agencies and offices of the government administration are sufficiently well-known, as is the case with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). On repeated occasions, Musk had publicly complained about the agency for the fines in his companies SpaceX and Starlink. Last September, the FAA fined him $633,000 for launching missions into space with unapproved changes. He also fined Starlink after the SpaceX subsidiary failed to submit safety data before launching satellites in 2022. Ultimately, Musk's pressure led to then-FAA chief Michael Whitaker resigning on the same day Trump was inaugurated.

While Musk insisted on DOGE's "transparency," Trump has shown his support, saying there was no problem and that if he believed there was a conflict of interest, he would not allow it to do what it is doing. The tycoon also criticized the temporary blocks that some judges have already begun to issue against his dismantling of the agencies. The Republican has said that he will appeal the court decisions and that, if he needs to go to Congress to obtain support, he will do so. Trump has narrow majorities in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

In recent days, DOGE collaborators (known as “Muskovites”) have spread throughout the administration: within the Treasury Department, the Department of Education, the international cooperation agency USAID, and the agencies that oversee Medicare and Medicaid health programs. At the Treasury, the “Muskovites” managed to access the payment system, which includes sensitive information such as the Social Security numbers of thousands of Americans.

Most recently, last week, two federal judges blocked Musk from accessing the Treasury’s payment systems. In the most recent case, the federal judge in Manhattan denied access not only to the DOGE leader, but also to all of his employees. In addition, the judge ordered the group to “immediately destroy any and all copies of downloaded material from the records and systems of the Department of the Treasury.”

Musk's reaction to the judge's order was swift, with a post on X on Sunday: "A corrupt judge protecting corruption. He needs to be removed NOW!" Trump also joined in the criticism, telling reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the Super Bowl on Sunday that he was "very disappointed" with the judge's decision, but that "we still have a long way to go."