The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, though unelected, has somehow become one of the most powerful government officials in Trump’s administration, charged with slashing the budget for social programs and government departments that administer and support key services for the people of the United States.
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative of the Trump administration, has been given an unusual amount of power to cut government services under the pretext of “efficiency”. For example, a federal research agency that tracks the progress of the nation’s students—the Education Department’s Institute of Education Sciences—has been cut to the tune of almost USD 900 million. DOGE has waged a very public war against the federal workforce, including by seeking to access the ultra-sensitive payment system for federal workers—a move which was blocked following a legal counterattack by organized labor.
Currently, Musk has cut or temporarily removed thousands from the federal workforce. At least 8,800 workers have been affected from agencies the Trump administration has targeted directly, across primarily USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but also the General Services Administration, which supports the functioning of federal agencies, the Education Department, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which coordinates disaster response nationwide.
Musk has set his sights against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, writing “CFPB RIP,” alongside a gravestone emoji on X. Some of Musk’s corporate initiatives, such as turning his social media endeavor X into a virtual wallet where users can send money to each other, have come under increased scrutiny by the CFPB. DOGE has combatted these efforts at government regulation and oversight by gaining access to the CFPB headquarters and computer systems.
Some have denounced Musk’s attacks against the CFPB. “It’s clear who Trump serves—and it’s not you,” wrote former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. “Without the CFPB, giant financial institutions—like banks, mortgage lenders, credit card companies, and debt collection companies—will have an easier time picking your pocket.”
Musk and Trump have justified attacks on government services and regulations as a way to combat fraud and boost efficiency. Cutting spending is not “optional,” but “essential,” Musk pontificates during a press conference with Trump in the Oval Office.
Musk’s ventures are subsidized by the federal government
But cutting spending does not seem to apply to the US government’s spending on Musk and his capitalist endeavors.
This week, Musk’s rocket company SpaceX was cementing a “supplemental” contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), adding USD 7.5 million to the company’s work with the government agency. The US government has already committed USD 3.9 million to SpaceX as part of a deal with NASA, which is expected to cost up to USD 4.4 million. DOGE has not announced any funding cuts to NASA thus far. Trump has nominated tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, who has close ties to Musk, to head NASA. Isaacman’s payment processing company has also come under regulation by the CFPB. As reported by The Lever, Isaacman’s company was fined by federal regulators belonging to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for not properly disclosing USD 4.7 million in payments to the relatives of the company’s executives.
Musk’s automobile company, Tesla, was forecasted to win a USD 400 million contract with the State Department, however, this appears to no longer be the case. Following the reporting of the latest filing of the Department of State’s Procurement Forecast for the fiscal year 2025 by Drop Site News, the Department quietly edited the public document to remove the word “Tesla”.
In responding to a segment on MSNBC by commentator Rachel Maddow on the contract, Elon Musk wrote on X, “Hey @Maddow, why the lie?”
In the last decade, SpaceX and Tesla’s contracts with the US government have been worth at least USD 18 billion. SpaceX’s federal contracts in particular skyrocketed by billions of dollars under the Biden administration.
