Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and unelected adviser to President Donald Trump, is asserting control over much of the federal bureaucracy and sensitive government computer systems despite lacking clear authority. The highest-ranking career official at the Treasury Department was pushed out after refusing to hand Musk’s team the keys to the government’s entire payment system and the $6 trillion in payments the system processes annually, including Social Security checks, tax refunds and Medicare benefits. Musk and his team have also seized control at the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration, key institutions that function as the central nervous system of the U.S. government. “In any other situation, this would be called state capture, and people around the world would be condemning it,” says Democratic strategist Waleed Shahid, who writes in a new blog post that Elon Musk is staging a coup. We also speak with Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative, who warns that Musk could be laying the groundwork for major tax cuts Republicans have promised that will disproportionately benefit corporations and wealthy people like him. “Elon Musk is going to pay for his tax cut with your Social Security,” says Owens.

There is a coup occurring now

  • IamSparticles@lemmy.zipEnglish
    1·
    3 minutes ago

    Does this headline violate Betteridge’s Law? Find out after these words from our sponsors.

  • takeiteasypolicy@lemmy.world
    6·
    1 hour ago

    It’s time that people who believe in principles of democracy should come together and create their own counter project 2025 plan. A long term strategic document, with action plans to not only restore but strengthen democracy in US

  • uis@lemm.ee
    4·
    2 hours ago

    Why are people surprised with President Musk presidenting with his advisor Donald?

  • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    33·
    2 hours ago

    It’s not a coup. It’s an election. This is the completely predictable and continuous result of a state founded by slavemasters and run by white supremacy.

  • Allo Mon Coco@sh.itjust.works
    41·
    24 hours ago

    Funny to think pedo-don spent 8 years pretending Obama couldn’t be prez because he was born in Africa, just the give the control of the country to an unlected incompetent bro who was actually born in Africa.

  • DarkFuture@lemmy.worldEnglish
    30·
    23 hours ago

    If you were still under the impression that conservatives were patriots that gave a flying fuck about the Constitution, now you have your definitive answer.

  • Pollo_Jack@lemmy.worldEnglish
    69·
    1 day ago

    2A thumpers defend school shootings as required to defend against tyrants. Tyrants literally in our buildings and giving nazi salutes? Nothing.

    • endeavor@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      43·
      1 day ago

      Americans currently rereading the 2nd amendment: “Damn, if we could only use them outside of schools, things would be fixed quickly”

      • Wogi@lemmy.world
        25·
        1 day ago

        It’s weird that Jefferson literally demanded helpless children be shot in schools like that but hey that’s what the Constitution says so I guess we gotta let em do it.

        WHAT DO YOU MEAN SOMEONE TOOK A KNEE AT THE NATIONAL ANTHEM??!!???

  • mhague@lemmy.world
    582·
    1 day ago

    Musk is who we deserve. The country that treats money as speech and corporations as people and bribery as political action has the worlds richest man controlling it. Finally, the world is making some fucking sense.

  • rascalnikov@literature.cafeEnglish
    101·
    22 hours ago

    Bro is already executing, he is beyond staging. Goes to show that knowledge isn’t power in capitalism; you can be as retarded as they come and still fry shit on a national level; as long as you have the capital funds for it.

  • thespcicifcocean@lemmy.world
    792·
    1 day ago

    it’s only a coup if it comes from the Coup d’Etat region of France, otherwise it’s just a sparkling government takeover.

    • Wogi@lemmy.world
      7·
      1 day ago

      Which is why the US has never actually staged a coup in a foreign country. Not many people know that

  • reksas@sopuli.xyz
    24·
    1 day ago

    if you think trump is bad, just wait to be ruled directly by those fuckers instead of via proxy.

    • ansiz@lemmy.worldEnglish
      18·
      1 day ago

      Who’s to say we’re not already. Just look at how much golfing Trump has already been up to! I bet he ends up spending more time in Florida than in DC.

      • CitizenKong@lemmy.world
        8·
        24 hours ago

        His mind is also mush. He’s signing whatever he gets handed to and rambles some incoherent soundbites he got told beforehand when in front of the cameras.

      • reksas@sopuli.xyz
        6·
        1 day ago

        yeah, but that still has the limitation of having to at least pretend. I dread to think what will happen when they stop caring about that and just directly take control.

  • Mnemnosyne@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    28·
    1 day ago

    Hey, hey. Elon Musk purchased the US fair and square, we’ve known that for like 3 months now, no need to go acting all surprised!

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      211·
      1 day ago

      Exactly. He has every American’s personal details and total control of the nation’s finances. He really doesn’t need anything else.

    • kava@lemmy.world
      21·
      1 day ago

      they won the election. now they are dismantling the levers of government. the goal is to weaken all other national institutions until eventually they can just ignore Congress or Supreme Court

  • militaryintelligence@lemmy.world
    761·
    2 days ago

    Nah, everybody relax. Go to work, come home to your 2.3 kids. Everything is normal. President Musk is doing everything he can to take care of the immigrant and LGBTQ problem, the only problems the USA has. Men could be playing womens sports, guys. I mean it. Massive fucking problem.