Here's what's behind Musk’s government blitz. Haven't seen anything quite like Musk

Elon Musk became rich and famous as an entrepreneur, but he’s quickly making a new name for himself as one of the most singular and polarizing figures of any presidential administration.

The tech titan turned government cost cutter has emerged as the central player other than President Donald Trump in his three-week-old presidency, igniting debate with a blitz of moves at federal agencies.

Musk’s style is more reminiscent of a hostile corporate takeover than typical government reform, experts say. He is acting with speed, wielding a level of power rarely, if ever, seen in presidential aides and taking a more radical approach than powerful government figures in the past, moving to dismantle whole agencies approved by Congress.

“We haven’t seen anything quite like Musk,” said presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky.

The rapid-fire Musk approach to federal agencies has sparked protests and lawsuits. Critics say his team with the new Department of Government Efficiency is disregarding the law and the constitutional separation of pow

ers. They also have raised alarms about DOGE’s access to vast amounts of sensitive personal information the government has on Americans.

Musk's government moves echo his business career, but there's a big difference between overhauling government agencies and a private business, experts say.

The government provides essential services that could have devastating consequences if they fail. The government also holds highly sensitive private information about everyone from taxpayers to undercover CIA agents.

"People die when the government" messes up said Elaine Kamarck, who led a government reform effort under President Bill Clinton. "People die. This is not the same as the private sector."

Government officials also are expected to avoid conflicts of interest. Musk companies have federal contracts and face federal regulations.

Trump largely seems pleased so far, though, saying this week that Musk is doing a great job while also noting that the billionaire needs approval to his DOGE work, and may not always get it.

Musk leads some of the nation’s most recognizable companies – X, Tesla and SpaceX – and is ranked by Forbes as the wealthiest man in the world. His management style is famously hard-driving and all-consuming. He appears to be bringing the same approach to his new role as Trump’s chief government budget hawk.

That slashing, Silicon Valley CEO, move-quickly-and-don’t-worry-about- collateral-damage approach, and the wide latitude Trump has given Musk, or is tolerating, has prompted talk of a constitutional crisis.

Many conservatives are delighted, though. The important thing is that Musk is getting results said former Trump White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

"I'm tired of business as usual," Spicer said. Musk’s big moves

Musk endorsed Trump in July after the president was nearly assassinated while campaigning.

It has proven to be a hugely consequential partnership. Musk pumped at least $260 million into political committees supporting Trump and became a fixture in his orbit.

Trump announced DOGE on Nov. 12, a week after his victory, calling it “the Manhattan Project of our time.”

On Jan. 20, a few hours after being sworn into office, Trump signed an executive order making DOGE part of the federal government. Musk’s impact was immediate.

The DOGE team has been linked to dramatic upheaval at federal agencies.

Musk’s team is “infiltrating the government in ways that have never happened before,” said Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit group focused on effective government.

“He has taken operational control over large segments of our government without any accountability or transparency, and that has never been done or even closely been done before,” Stier added.

The White House did not respond to questions about Musk.

On Jan. 28 the U.S. Office of Personnel Management sent a memo titled “Fork in the Road” to all government employees offering them buyouts if they resign. Musk sent a memo with the same title to X employees in 2022 during a cost-cutting spree.

DOGE employees have fanned out across government agencies, taking control of OPM and the General Services Administration, agencies that handle human resources, property management and other government services. Some are young staffers in their early 20s and one is 19, according to media reports. DOGE staff have clashed with senior federal employees, according to reports.

“I’m very proud of the job that this group of young people, generally young people but very smart people, they’re doing," Trump said of DOGE Friday. "They’re doing it at my insistence."

Among the more controversial DOGE moves: Dismantling the federal government’s foreign aid office and gaining access to the U.S. Treasury Departments payment system, which includes personal information about millions of Americans.

The United States Agency for International Development – which provides roughly $40 billion in foreign aid for everything from preventing polio to famine relief – closed its Washington D.C. headquarters last week and notified roughly 10,000 employees they are on administrative leave. Trump’s team is trying to shutter the agency and move it under the State Department.

Musk – whose X bio describes him as “White House Tech Support” - said on X that he fed USAID “into the wood chipper.”

The Treasury payment system sends out trillions of dollars in tax refunds, Social Security checks and other federal funds.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that Musk’s team had “read only” access to the Treasury system, meaning they can’t manipulate it. But emails indicate they sought to stop payments from USAID, according to media reports. Their access has raised concerns about privacy, data security and whether some payments could be cut off.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump ally Elon Musk wields unusual power for a presidential aide

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