Efficiency − Or Empire? How Elon Musk’s Hostile Takeover Could End Government as We Know It

Elon Musk speaks at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
Elon Musk speaks at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
Matt Rourke/AP
Share
Elon Musk speaks at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
Elon Musk speaks at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
Matt Rourke/AP
Efficiency − Or Empire? How Elon Musk’s Hostile Takeover Could End Government as We Know It
Copy

Elon Musk’s role as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, is on the surface a dramatic effort to overhaul the inefficiencies of federal bureaucracy. But beneath the rhetoric of cost-cutting and regulatory streamlining lies a troubling scenario.

Musk has been appointed what is called a “special government employee” in charge of the White House office formerly known as the U.S. Digital Service, which was renamed the U.S. DOGE Service on the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term. The Musk team’s purported goals are to maximize efficiency and to eliminate waste and redundancy.

That might sound like a bold move toward Silicon Valley-style innovation in governance. However, the deeper motivations driving Musk’s involvement are unlikely to be purely altruistic.

Read the rest of this article on The Conversation.

Dance festival, musical storytelling, and dreams of a Midsummer Night in the depths of winter
At least a few Rhode Island doctors dusted off old ski gear to trudge their way to work despite the blizzard conditions
Survey of Rhode Island Democratic primary voters shows governor trailing with many still undecided
Advocates say the Lynch Arena killings fit a troubling pattern as data show high rates of intimate partner violence statewide
State asks motorists to help plows by avoiding unnecessary travel
With 37.9 inches at the state’s primary airport and multiple towns topping 30 inches, this storm has officially surpassed the Blizzard of ’78 benchmark