Musk 'declares war' on the US government, and Trump foots the bill

If Musk starts to drag down the Republican Party, Trump will hear calls to ‘get rid of Musk’ when the 2026 midterm elections come.

In the ‘blitzkrieg’ launched by Musk against the federal government, no one is more excited than himself. Musk’s posts on his social media platform X are filled with emoticons. For the complaints of the opponents, he responded with ?, and for the new proposal to reduce cost targets raised by supporters, he responded with ?.

But not everyone can laugh with the billionaire businessman, Tesla’s CEO, and special government employees who lead the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), including some who could have become Musk’s allies and support DOGE’s goals. Musk’s “attack the government first, ask questions later” approach could backfire and frustrate his efforts to address the U.S. national debt and other issues. As political and legal issues ensue, and the Trump administration’s popularity gradually suffers, Musk’s “invincible aura” may quickly dissipate.

David Walker, who served as the Comptroller General of the United States (head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office) for a long time, said, “I think it is very necessary to establish a department like DOGE, and it should have been established long ago, but I am very concerned about how it will fulfill its responsibilities.”

Most of the work done by DOGE is not public, and its structure has rapidly changed since Trump announced the establishment of the department. DOGE has been severely criticized because taking over the spending power of Congress is causing a constitutional crisis. Wired and other media outlets have reported that the entry of young DOGE employees into the highly sensitive payment system of the Treasury Department has raised concerns that Musk may attempt to unilaterally terminate expenditures that he does not recognize.

Walker said, “No one would be willing to participate in the ‘two-line struggle.’ The meaning of ‘two-line struggle’ is that you are fighting for what you are currently doing, while also fighting for how to do these things, and most people cannot win the ‘two-line struggle.’”

The term ‘two-line struggle’ may underestimate the opposition stirred up by Musk, who has become a focal point of frustration for some progressive-minded individuals who did not oppose Trump’s victory in 2024 as they did in 2016.

In Washington, people gathered at locations such as the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to hold protests. Meanwhile, in order to prevent DOGE employees from accessing the Treasury payment system, the federal employee union has filed a lawsuit. According to the latest news, a federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order restricting DOGE employees’ access to the Treasury payment system.

A Democratic senator said he will suspend the vote on the Trump administration’s nominee for the State Department until DOGE and the Trump administration withdraw their plan to close the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (USAID).

This is a strong response to the closure of the United States International Development Agency. The plan was initially seen as another committee’s move to reduce the deficit with little impact, but Musk said that as the work progressed, his goals changed.

On February 5th, in Washington, D.C., protesters held up signs against Musk outside the U.S. Department of Labor.

On the morning of February 3rd, Musk said in an audio livestream on X that his original intention was to try to do some small-scale portal cleaning for the US Agency for International Development, but these tasks turned into more things.

Musk said: “After gaining a deeper understanding of the United States Agency for International Development, we found that it is not an apple with a bug inside, but an apple that has been hollowed out by bugs. If the apple does not exist, it must be thrown away entirely.”

The United States International Development Agency is mainly responsible for private foreign aid and development assistance, and the fate of the agency is currently hanging in the balance, with many staff being temporarily suspended from work.

It is not clear how much money Musk and DOGE have saved in total. After analyzing the cancellation of contracts, termination of office lease contracts and other cost-cutting measures announced by DOGE, Barron’s estimated the figure to be around $1.5 billion.

The plan to close federal agencies such as the US International Development Agency may save more money, but many affected employees are still receiving salaries. Musk said he believes he can save $1 trillion in about two years.

Before gaining the power to unilaterally shut down federal agencies, Musk’s plan was not well-received within the United States. A poll conducted by Quinipiac University in December last year showed that 53% of voters did not approve of his role in the Trump administration, when his influence was smaller than it is now. The growing opposition will bring more challenges to Musk’s every move, even if these oppositions are unfounded.

Wok said, “What is happening now is completely uncommunicative with the people. In the end, the people are very angry, but in fact, they may not need to be so angry. In many cases, what the people guess is not accurate.”

Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, may withstand public criticism, but being in charge of DOGE is different from being in charge of X or Tesla. In DOGE, Musk has a “boss” above him: the U.S. President Trump, a person known for his ruthless political instincts.

While often praising Musk and DOGE, Trump also made it clear that he is the “boss.” On February 3, Trump told reporters, “Without our approval, Elon can’t and won’t do anything.”

On February 7, signs of tension between Musk and Trump were seen. The White House said that Marko Elez, a former DOGE employee who had previously been allowed to visit the Treasury Department’s payment system, had resigned on February 6. Prior to this, The Wall Street Journal reported that Elez was associated with a social media account advocating racism and eugenics. After Elez’s resignation, Musk posted a poll on X asking whether he should rehire Elez.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Elaz’s resignation, nor did it respond to other questions related to DOGE. Musk did not respond to requests for comment from reporters through X and Tesla. Reporters were unable to contact Elaz himself for comment.

The midterm elections are coming in 2026, when the Republican Party may face a tough election. If Musk begins to drag down the Republican Party, Trump will hear calls to “get rid of Musk”.

Both the Democratic and Republican parties occasionally mistakenly believe that their party has finally won a permanent majority, but American history has proven them wrong every time they think so. Musk seems to have not learned this lesson. He is relentlessly moving forward, forgetting that the Democratic lawmakers who mocked him on social media—and some Republican lawmakers—will once again have the power to subpoena.

Political scientist Ben Ansell( wrote in his newsletter Political Calculus: “In a world where everyone who could potentially be adversely affected by public policy has veto power, it is impossible to formulate public policy. Political games will inevitably produce losers and winners, but deliberately crushing the losers is an expression of indifference, and sometimes even antisocial.”

No matter how Musk’s personality is, it’s a risky move to bet that he won’t succeed. Anyone who has tried to short Tesla’s stock knows this. Year after year, Musk has successfully consolidated his power, even when it seemed like he was about to lose.

Musk may bring trouble to DOGE, but he is likely to find a way to get through this crisis. After all, for Musk, Washington is just another stop on the way to Mars.