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‘A Complete Takeover’: New Trump Order Entrenches Musk-Led ‘Shadow Government’

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Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

Protesters rally against Elon Musk-led attacks on civil servants outside the U.S. Capitol on February 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
 (Photo: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump’s latest executive order “gives Elon Musk, an unelected, hyper-partisan billionaire, unfettered authority over this country’s civil service,” warned one advocacy group.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order handing an Elon Musk-led commission sweeping power to oversee federal hiring across non-military departments, entrenching what’s been described as a “shadow government” spearheaded by an unelected billionaire.

The new order states that the leader of each non-military federal agency “shall develop a data-driven plan” in coordination with the Department of Government Efficiency( DOGE), an advisory body that has infiltrated departments across the U.S. government—and accessed highly sensitive data—as part of an unprecedented effort to gut spending and the federal workforce.

“This hiring plan shall include that new career appointment hiring decisions shall be made in consultation with the agency’s DOGE Team Lead, consistent with applicable law,” the order continues. “The agency shall not fill any vacancies for career appointments that the DOGE Team Lead assesses should not be filled, unless the Agency Head determines the positions should be filled.”

The order also instructs agency directors to prepare for “large-scale” cuts to the federal workforce.

“It’s a complete takeover of the federal government by Musk,” investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr wrote in response to the executive action.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office with Musk at his side, Trump on Tuesday called the order “very important” and attacked federal judges who “want to try and stop us,” alluding to court orders against DOGE’s attempt to access vital government systems.

Musk, who is leading DOGE while simultaneously heading companies that are benefiting directly from his work inside the Trump administration, insisted he’s not orchestrating a “hostile takeover” of the federal government, declaring that the public voted for “major government reform” and “they are going to get what they voted for.”

The mega-billionaire also falsely claimed DOGE has been transparent as it rampages through the federal government.

“In reality,” The Guardian noted, “Musk has taken great pains to conceal how DOGE has operated, starting with his own involvement in the project. Musk himself is a ‘special government employee,’ which the White House has said means his financial disclosure filing will not be made public. The DOGE team involves about 40 staffers, but the actual number is not known. Staffers have tried to keep their identities private and refused to give their last names to career officials at the agencies they were detailed to.”

Trump’s latest executive order (EO) is poised to supercharge the Musk-led assault on and total dismantling of federal agencies, from the U.S. Agency for International Development to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“This new EO signed today appears to create DOGE as a shadow government across the entire federal government,” Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo wrote late Wednesday, adding that the order “seems to make Elon as head of DOGE functionally the president or perhaps something more like a prime minister.”

Skye Perryman, president and CEO of the advocacy group Democracy Forward, warned in a statement that “this latest attack on public service gives Elon Musk, an unelected, hyper-partisan billionaire, unfettered authority over this country’s civil service.”

“People and communities across the nation depend on a non-partisan, committed civil service,” said Perryman. “Democracy Forward will pursue all legal options available to protect our civil service and the American people from harms that would stem from this executive order.”

Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
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‘The Next Recession Starts Here’: Trump Team Weighs Abolishing Bank Regulators

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Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

The president-elect’s advisers are reportedly discussing plans to shrink or eliminate key bank watchdogs, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

President-elect Donald Trump and his advisers are reportedly considering plans to weaken—or abolish altogether—top bank regulators, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that members of Trump’s transition team and the new Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency have asked nominees under consideration to head the FDIC and OCC if the bank watchdogs could be eliminated and have their functions absorbed by the Treasury Department, which is set to be run by a billionaire hedge fund manager and crypto enthusiast.

“Bank executives are optimistic President-elect Donald Trump will ease a host of regulations on capital cushions and consumer protections, as well as scrutiny of consolidation in the industry,” the Journal reported. “But FDIC deposit insurance is considered near sacred. Any move that threatened to undermine even the perception of deposit insurance could quickly ripple through banks and in a crisis might compound customer fears.”

The Trump team’s internal and fluid discussions about the fate of the key bank regulators broadly aligns with Project 2025’s proposal to “merge the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Federal Reserve’s non-monetary supervisory and regulatory functions.”

The FDIC, which is primarily funded by bank insurance premiums, was established during the Great Depression to restore public trust in the nation’s banking system, and the agency played a central role in navigating the 2023 bank failures that threatened a systemic crisis.

Observers warned that gutting the FDIC and OCC could catalyze another economic meltdown.

“The next recession starts here,” tech journalist Jacob Silverman warned in response to the Journal‘s reporting.

Eric Rauchway, a historian of the New Deal, wrote that “even Milton Friedman appreciated the FDIC,” underscoring the extreme nature of the incoming Trump administration’s deregulatory ambitions.

Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, is also pushing for the elimination of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency established in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

The Journal noted Thursday that “Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican from Kentucky and Trump ally on the House Financial Services Committee, has backed the plan to eliminate or drastically alter the CFPB and said he wants to get rid of what he calls ‘one-size-fits-all’ regulation for banks.”

Barr has received millions of dollars in campaign donations from the financial sector and “introduced many pieces of pro-industry legislation, including significant rollbacks of protections stemming from the 2008 financial crisis,” according to the watchdog group Accountable.US.

Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Continue Reading‘The Next Recession Starts Here’: Trump Team Weighs Abolishing Bank Regulators