- cross-posted to:
- politics@beehaw.org
- cross-posted to:
- politics@beehaw.org
Summary
Elon Musk vowed to cancel government grants after allegedly gaining access to the US Treasury’s payments system, triggering the abrupt resignation of a senior official.
Musk, who leads Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), claimed his team found Treasury officials approving payments without scrutiny.
Democrats, including Sen. Ron Wyden, raised alarms over Musk’s influence on federal funds. Treasury access concerns intensified after Trump ally Michael Flynn posted grant payments online.
Musk’s authority to halt payments remains unclear, and the Treasury has not responded to inquiries.
While the nuance is appreciated, I think it’s a trajectory worth considering.
When Trump is no longer able to even pretend to lead, in his circle there are not any obvious successors that seem likely to have the same capacity to steamroll the GOP into whatever the hell they like while also being a legal candidate for president. However if he uses his transient status to overly enable Musk to lead in ways he is legally forbidden to do so, then it elevates the risk of Musk as the heir apparent to the Trump problem.