Elon Musk Suggests He Alone Decides What Will get Funded within the Authorities

Elon Musk appeared at President Donald Trump’s first cupboard assembly of his second time period Wednesday to speak about what the billionaire was doing with DOGE, the group that’s at the moment dismantling the federal authorities in an unlawful powerplay that circumvents Congress. And whereas Musk repeated a line he’s stated beforehand about how he would inevitably make errors whereas chopping trillions from the finances, there was one other second the place he by accident revealed he’s unilaterally selecting what will get funded or not.

“I ought to say we are going to make errors. We received’t be excellent. However once we make errors, we’ll repair it in a short time,” Musk stated.

The billionaire oligarch then gave his instance of a “mistake” that was corrected, which was extraordinarily revealing.

“So for instance, with USAID, one of many issues we by accident canceled very briefly was Ebola prevention,” Musk stated. “I feel all of us need Ebola prevention. So we restored the Ebola prevention instantly. And there was no interruption. However we do want to maneuver rapidly if we’re to attain a $1 trillion deficit discount in monetary yr 2026.”

Whether or not he is aware of it or not, Musk was admitting that he was making the choices about what ought to get funding in a totally arbitrary approach. Whereas it could appear apparent that Ebola prevention ought to be funded, he hasn’t been elected or confirmed to make that call. His mandate from President Trump as a “particular authorities worker” is ostensibly to root out waste, fraud, and abuse. However every part DOGE has introduced publicly to chop is simply one thing Musk didn’t like, not one thing that was an instance of waste, fraud, or abuse.

Congress very famously has the facility of the purse and created companies like USAID to distribute international help all over the world. And if an unelected billionaire can simply are available and determine what will get funded, that’s merely not the authorized approach of doing it.

What makes Musk’s claims all of the extra galling is that not less than one professional within the discipline of Ebola says the billionaire isn’t even precisely representing what occurred. Craig Spencer, a health care provider who works at Brown College Faculty of Public Well being and is an Ebola survivor, wrote on X about how Musk wasn’t actually telling the reality about what occurred now that funds have been drastically lower for public well being.

“On January 29, Uganda reported an Ebola outbreak. Usually the U.S. would’ve in a short time despatched one in every of our Ebola specialists to assist the response. However this time, we didn’t. As a result of we couldn’t. As a result of this administration wouldn’t allow them to go proper when this outbreak was declared,” Spencer wrote.

“And usually the U.S. would’ve helped arrange border screening and different measures on the bottom,” Spencer continued. “However this time, we didn’t. Usually, we’d’ve spoke with the WHO about serving to finish the outbreak. However this time, we didn’t. As a result of CDC workers weren’t even allowed to speak to them.”

Spencer even says {that a} colleague in Uganda tried to name the White Home in regards to the outbreak and wasn’t capable of attain anybody.

“You realize who does ‘Ebola prevention’ right here within the U.S.? The CDC,” Spencer wrote. “Tons of of those frontline specialists misplaced their jobs final week as a part of indiscriminate ‘value saving’ firings. Extra cuts are anticipated. USAID has lengthy supported Ebola response efforts abroad. Not no extra.”

So, it is NOT true to say ‘one in every of issues we by accident cancelled very briefly was Ebola prevention’ and that it was rapidly restored…

Since you’ve hobbled or straight dismantled the response constructions wanted to finish Ebola outbreaks overseas and defend us right here within the U.S.

— Craig Spencer MD MPH (@Craig_A_Spencer) February 26, 2025

Musk spoke for about 10 minutes, in accordance with a livestream on YouTube, and talked in regards to the methods by which Trump had instructed him to be aggressive in firing folks. It’s unclear how many individuals have been laid off from the federal authorities to date, however probationary workers have been the primary to be let go and the Related Press reported on Wednesday plans have been drawn as much as fireplace extra by March 13.

Except for Musk, the cupboard assembly additionally touched on different subjects, like Trump’s plan to desert the EB-5 visa in favor of what he’s calling a “gold card” that might permit somebody who’s prepared to pay $5 million to primarily purchase a inexperienced card to have authorized residence within the nation.

Trump additionally introduced up his concept that Canada ought to change into America’s “51st state,” an aggressively silly menace in opposition to a long-time ally. The president additionally made the ridiculous declare that the European Union “was shaped to screw the US.”

A number of lawsuits have been introduced in opposition to Musk and Trump for the way in which that they’re at the moment destroying the federal authorities. But it surely stays to be seen whether or not these lawsuits can be price something. Trump’s Justice Division regularly ignores courtroom orders in “brazen defiance” of the rule of legislation. And since federal courts don’t have their very own folks with weapons to implement the legislation, Trump and his goons can simply proceed doing what they do.