Musk, Secretary of State Marc Rubio, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, get in verbal fight. 
Simmering Anger Over Musk
The New York Times reports Inside the Explosive Meeting Where Trump Officials Clashed With Elon Musk That’s a free link.
Marco Rubio was incensed. Here he was in the Cabinet Room of the White House, the secretary of state, seated beside the president and listening to a litany of attacks from the richest man in the world.
Seated diagonally opposite, across the elliptical mahogany table, Elon Musk was letting Mr. Rubio have it, accusing him of failing to slash his staff.
You have fired “nobody,” Mr. Musk told Mr. Rubio, then scornfully added that perhaps the only person he had fired was a staff member from Mr. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Mr. Rubio had been privately furious with Mr. Musk for weeks, ever since his team effectively shuttered an entire agency that was supposedly under Mr. Rubio’s control: the United States Agency for International Development. But, in the extraordinary cabinet meeting on Thursday in front of President Trump and around 20 others — details of which have not been reported before — Mr. Rubio got his grievances off his chest.
What about the more than 1,500 State Department officials who took early retirement in buyouts? Didn’t they count as layoffs? He asked, sarcastically, whether Mr. Musk wanted him to rehire all those people just so he could make a show of firing them again.
After the argument dragged on for an uncomfortable time, Mr. Trump finally intervened to defend Mr. Rubio as doing a “great job.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has had tense encounters related to Mr. Musk’s team, was not present.
In a post on social media after the meeting, Mr. Trump said the next phase of his plan to cut the federal work force would be conducted with a “scalpel” rather than a “hatchet” — a clear reference to Mr. Musk’s scorched-earth approach.
Just moments before the blowup with Mr. Rubio, Mr. Musk and the transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, went back and forth about the state of the Federal Aviation Administration’s equipment for tracking airplanes and what kind of fix was needed. Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, jumped in to support Mr. Musk.
Mr. Duffy said the young staff of Mr. Musk’s team was trying to lay off air traffic controllers. What am I supposed to do? Mr. Duffy said. I have multiple plane crashes to deal with now, and your people want me to fire air traffic controllers?
Mr. Musk told Mr. Duffy that his assertion was a “lie.” Mr. Duffy insisted it was not; he had heard it from them directly. Mr. Musk, asking who had been fired, said: Give me their names. Tell me their names.
Mr. Duffy said there were not any names, because he had stopped them from being fired. At another point, Mr. Musk insisted that people hired under diversity, equity and inclusion programs were working in control towers. Mr. Duffy pushed back and Mr. Musk did not add details, but said during the longer back and forth that Mr. Duffy had his phone number and should call him if he had any issues to raise.
The exchange ended with Mr. Trump telling Mr. Duffy that he had to hire people from M.I.T. as air traffic controllers. These air traffic controllers need to be “geniuses,” he said.
The secretary of veterans affairs, Doug Collins, has been dealing with one of the most politically sensitive challenges of all the cabinet secretaries. Mr. Musk’s cuts will affect thousands of veterans — a powerful constituency and a core part of the Trump base. Mr. Collins made the point that they should not wield a blunt instrument and cleave off everyone from the V.A. They needed to be strategic about it. Mr. Trump agreed with Mr. Collins, saying they ought to retain the smart ones and get rid of the bad ones.
Mr. Musk, who later claimed on X that the cabinet meeting was “very productive,” seemed far less enthused inside the room. He aggressively defended himself, reminding the cabinet secretaries that he had built multiple billion-dollar companies from the ground up and knew something about hiring good people.
Most cabinet members did not join the fray. Mr. Musk’s anger directed at Mr. Rubio in particular seemed to catch people in the room by surprise, one person with knowledge of the meeting said. Another person said Mr. Musk’s caustic responses to Mr. Duffy and Mr. Rubio seemed to deter other cabinet members, many of whom have privately complained about the Musk team, from speaking.
But it remains to be seen how long this new arrangement will last.
Is Musk Supposed to Advise or Dictate?
We all know the answer to that, except apparently Elon Musk.
He wants to fire air traffic controllers just because they were hired under a DEI program, with no regard for public safety. He just wants numbers to brag about.
I have no use for DEI and have stated so many times. But just because someone was hired on a DEI program does not make them incompetent.
And if you get rid of a needed person, then you have to hire someone back. That seems lost on Musk, but not Rubio who sarcastically responded to one of Musk’s outbursts whether Musk wanted him to rehire all the USAID people just so he could make a show of firing them again.
SOTU Provides Opening for Lawyers Challenging DOGE Authority
The Wall Street Journal reports Trump Speech Provides Opening for Lawyers Challenging Musk’s DOGE Authority
Trump referred to Musk as heading DOGE in his speech to a joint session of Congress. In doing so, the president appeared to contradict government lawyers defending DOGE who have characterized Musk’s role as merely advisory.
“To further combat inflation, we will not only be reducing the cost of energy, but will be ending the flagrant waste of taxpayer dollars,” Trump told lawmakers. “And to that end, I have created the brand new Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. Perhaps. Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight.”
Where Musk fits into the chain of command has emerged as a central question in lawsuits seeking to curb DOGE’s data access and push to shrink government agencies.
The Trump administration’s lawyers say Musk is a presidential adviser giving recommendations with no binding legal effect, but at least three judges have questioned whether Musk’s powers are more expansive, which could raise constitutional concerns.
Within hours after Trump’s speech, plaintiffs challenging DOGE submitted court filings alerting judges of Trump’s remarks.
“It’s so obvious Mr. Musk is enjoying significant authority that requires Senate confirmation,” said attorney Norman Eisen, who represents a group of current and former employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development, which Musk has sought to dismantle. “The president’s comments last night just reaffirm that.”
Oops.
Now, add to that mess, the White House temper tantrum between Musk and Rubio, and Musk and Duffy.
Musk with his kid on his shoulder should not be in that meeting at all. But he is there, making demands as if he has authority to do so.
Last week, the White House last week identified a little-known healthcare executive, Amy Gleason, as the acting DOGE administrator legally in charge.
So why is Musk at the meeting and not the person allegedly in charge?
The Idea Behind Doge
Just so this is clear, I fully support the idea behind DOGE.
But Musk is best viewed as a braying jackass making demands that are not his to make.
And he is also a reckless liar who exaggerates his accomplishments.
DOGE has not come up with a single idea that was not already understood by Rand Paul and hundreds of bloggers including me.
USAID Cancellation by Trump, the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Details
On February 6, I commented USAID Cancellation by Trump, the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Details
The Good
Rooting out fraud and ridiculous unauthorized payments is good. Moreover, there is grounds to fire everyone who sent out checks without questioning a single one.
The Bad
Sorry DOGE, but a blanket cancellation of all payments is unconstitutional.
The Ugly
Elon Musk has no power to do anything but advise the President and make recommendations.
The Unfortunate Reality
There is no advantage in releasing Musk in a China shop than releasing George Soros in the same China shop. No good will come from a reckless smashing of plates.
And the unfortunate impact might very well be the courts block everything when some very good things may have happened if Trump took a legitimate case-by-case look.
Lawsuits are pending and Trump will lose. We should not be in this setup.
If you disagree then please tell me how you would have felt if Biden authorized George Soros access to the system to shut down payments he disagreed with.
Hypocrites make excuses. I don’t.
Also note Elon Musk says he and Trump are shutting down USAID
Musk, the head of Trump’s government efficiency initiative, announced the shutdown in the middle of the night in an audio-only appearance on his social media site X.
But Musk has no power to shut down anything.
Supreme Court Rejects Trump’s Pause on USAID Payouts
On March 5, I noted Supreme Court Rejects Trump’s Pause on USAID Payouts
I thought this could go either way, and the 5-4 vote shows it might have.
Yes I know this will go back to the lower court and may be appealed. I even said so, but judging from comments people cannot read.
As I said on February 6, “The unfortunate impact might very well be the courts block everything when some very good things may have happened if Trump took a legitimate case-by-case look.“
The fact of the matter is Trump tried to cancel USAID entirely and is now arguing about the length of time he can hold up questionable expenses.
Surprise, Surprise, Surprise – Not
On March 6, NBC reported “Trump administration must pay debts to USAID partners by Monday, judge rules”
I had this conversation with my constitutional law expert friend (CLEF).
CLEF: Today’s win was procedural. I.e., the standards for injunctive relief were met and pending a final decision, payments can continue.
Me: If they cannot win on this point, how are they going to win on cancellation?
CLEF: “If you can’t prevent the distribution of Congressionally approved funds, you certainly can’t shut down an agency that Congress has mandated, if that’s what you mean by cancellation.”
Me: Yes, exactly what I mean.
CLEF: All Trump has to do is go to the Republican-controlled Congress and get it to repeal the USAID statute. A President can’t do that, assuming we’re still living in a country governed by the US Constitution.
So here we are.
Had Trump gone about this the way I suggested, they likely could have blocked suspect payments. Instead, nothing.
Also consider DOGE is Careless in Operation and Reckless in Reporting
Your grievance against Mr. Msk appears to be that he is a bull in a China shop. The reality is that that is exactly the type of character needed to perform DOGE in an effective manner. Traditional follow the rules exactly type of character woud definiyely flounder in this position. Perfection will not work in this instance. As for cabinet fighting well that occurs all the time.
“Your grievance against Mr. Musk appears to be that he is a bull in a China shop.”
I actually think Musk is a genius. Tesla and SpaceX are proof enough to me.
But look where bull in a China shop has gone: Nowhere, as the courts have shown. Rubio will do it the correct way, or it won’t get done.
Sorry Mish, you lost me at “The New York Times reports…” The NYT claiming a story is based on “people with knowledge of the events” should have been your first clue. I’m disappointed
Ad hominem bullshit
The article is totally believable
The authority grants of a lawless Banana Republic on display for the world to see? Where’s the popcorn?
How much of this can you believe ? Its the NY Times!!!!!!
You know what one of Trumps biggest mistakes was?? Huh Mike?
Letting Elon be the face of DOGE and wasteful government spending coming from a guy thats received Billions in those EV credits that if he didnt have them he wouldnt have made 1/2 his billions………..which is evaporating massively on a daily basis apparently.
I think we can all agree all the federal government agencies could use a good clean up in aisle 7
Does anyone remember the Tower 22 drone attack on Jan 28, 2024?
A highly advanced radar system identified two drones: one was US, returning from a surveillance mission. The other was ‘unknown.’ It killed three US soldiers, and wounded 47 others, 8 seriously enough to be evacuated. US Central Command was supposed to investigate the incident, beginning with the preliminary finding that the arrival of both drones caused ‘confusion.’
Now, more than a year later, who knows the final results of the US Central Command investigation? A better question is was there an investigation?
Put yourself in command, with the same situation. You have 20 seconds to decide what to do. Two drones, not sure which is which. Approaching the base with 350 soldiers. OOPS TOO LATE. BTW, critical thinking says the ONLY response is destroy both drones.
This is the problem throughout government. A singular lack of critical thinking, covered up by gross incompetence. The more rules, the less critical thinking. The more excuses, the less critical thinking. The more DEI, the less critical thinking. Now, ask yourself why?
Right now, Elon Musk, is one of very few people doing any critical thinking.
Maybe Hillary will come back. The surveys certainly still show that most Americans think the federal agencies do not serve them. OMG. A push back against the US. In short, no civil and no servants.
Anyone with recent experience with federal agencies usually has bad experiences. As a federal employee hired in at the start of the Obama administration, it was obvious civil servants were being replaced lock stock and barrel with non civil folks who were hired, not based on ability, but based color or what is between their legs. And, nearly all claimed to be victims, and wronged by the privileged. God help their targets.
From time to time, I’ll share the word on the street in Palm Beach. The latest is that Musk is panicked about being shot so is wearing a Kevlar suit at certain engagements. He also puts his child X on his shoulders as apparently, he thinks it will deter a shooter. I thought this was nuts but maybe it is true.
I was recently introduced in Palm Beach to a black woman who served in the military and now has prominent contracts with the Pentagon. I thought of Mish when she went off on “white billionaire men saying we don’t need DEI”. She has a nongender first name and I watched how men went up to her husband to thank him for her service. He promptly said, you mean my wife – the speaker tonight, and suggested they thank her. They didn’t.
I wish white men would shut up about DEI.
If RFK Jr has guts to attack the pharma cabal – who are mocking us – educate our children to avoid ultra processed food, the zoomers and their parents will deflate the $15B/Y statin industry and Ozempic that reduces children obesity, if he starts using alpha gen as a lever ==> he can reduce trillions in gov debt within 10/12 years. RFK Jr and Ilan will cut the fake GDP, replacing it with productive GDP, along with lower debt.
I always wondered how the Neocon in Rubio would manifest. Refusing to weed out a bloated State Debt seems like a tell. Does Rubio want people to believe that his Dept is somehow full of productive bureaucrat’s? The only thing they have been effective at is starting and then fanning the flames of war.
While I like a lot of what Elon is trying to accomplish, you need to remember his personal life, because that’s who he is. He has 14 kids with 6 different women and he’s far from done. This is a quote from the Daily Mail: A female friend of Musk’s told The Mail on Sunday: ‘He will keep fathering children for as long as he can and he’s only 53 so technically he could keep going for another 30 years. ‘He sees it as his mission to repopulate the earth, single-handedly if necessary.’
In addition to this, have you seen what he names these kids. Musk shares three children with his former romantic partner, singer Grimes, who gave birth to their son X Æ A-Xii in May 2020. They then welcomed a daughter, Exa Dark Sideræl, via surrogate in December 2021. Their third child, Techno Mechanicus,
I think of it as selective breeding. Frankly, I’d rather see 100 kids with Elon Musk’s DNA than 10 million kids with not-sure-who-daddy-is DNA.
Sad to see nearly half cheering the rapid disassembly of democracy.
It really only takes one ”reckless liar who exaggerates his accomplishments” at the top of the Executive Branch…
but having two will be twice as efficient.
Yup, democracy thrived under Biden-Harris.
sound ideas should be attacked and made to be defended with rigourous debate. Its the way the truth was found before regime hired an echo chamber of yes men to surround them. like Kamala et al..
All ideas should be attacked….
This was reported to NYT by a fly on the wall.
Seriously, this was a meeting with some cabinet members, so who would have leaked it to NYT? Now they will know there is a mole inside.
The historic person that took Musk’s slash-and-burn approach to running government was Savonarola when he established his theocratic Florentine republic in the 1490s. The slight difference is that Musk wants to establish a technocratic republic run by tech bros instead of a theocratic republic run by Dominican monks. Needless to say the whole story didn’t end well, especially for Savonarola and his brother monks.
history rhymes but rarely repeats, beware of allegories that may cloud your vision.
The Great War of 1914 came to be called WW1, after a repeat of the Great War that came to be known as WW2. Caesar or Napoleon can’t come back for a repeat performance, thus history rhymes in a similar manner. The Roman Empire gave way to the British Empire, to now the American Empire.
Savonarola eventually was put to “trial by fire”, failed the trial and was then executed.
Savonarola’s main problem was that he brought the Florentine economy to its knees … that at least rhymes with what we are seeing right now.
“Bonfire of the Vanities” was not good for the economy apparently.
Is there evidence that Musk wants a ‘technocratic republic run by tech bros’?
Rather, he seems to want an efficient and effective government run by the people, for the people.
This is how you see it: Musk is the new Founding Father. This is how I see it: “They make a desert, and call it peace.” Tacitus
So by your argument, we should sit around and wait for Congress to do something? And wait. And wait.And wait.And wait.And wait.And wait.
BTW, I hope your examples of deserts include Gaza and Ukraine. Remembering, of course, that Biden proclaimed himself the master of foreign policy
As soon as Ilan went against the globalist ideological cabal he was attacked.
any reason we can’t use real names?
They (Trump/Vance) should change their strategy from impoundment to rescission (of funding) through congress. As I understand it, they only need a simple majority in the Senate.
Trump/Vance are doing their best to first get us a recession; after that there will be plenty of rescission.
don’t trust the NYT as accurate. anonymous source who heard from a friend who heard from someone
exact same thing i thought and when i went to investigate further? all left-leaning sites reported… no one on the right, far-right.. nothing..
But 51 Intelligence specialists said hunters laptop was russian disinformation and the NYT published the letter, so it must be true.
Also Dr. Fauci was the science and the NYT said so, and then joe biden had to pardon him because of so much science.
The NYT is a state department asset that will publish pretty much anything they are told to publish, like CNN et al.
Ivermectin is horse paste and will kill you if you even look at the tube on the shelf and wear an n95 mask in you car alone as you may infect yourself with a virus that you are breathing if that makes any sense, than surely the NYT is a font of wisdom for people who’s brains work like that.
so much propaganda and so few people willing to exercize judgement. There’s a reason car salesman are trusted more than congress or the media.
But Elon spent hundreds of millions to get Trump elected. He obviously owns the presidency now. He bought it.
You’re talking like it would be the first time the wealthy have a disproportionate say in policy and telling politicians what to do. You’re just reacting to the media telling you what to think about it in this case versus every other president where the media covers that sort of stuff up.
“He aggressively defended himself, reminding the cabinet secretaries that he had built multiple billion-dollar companies from the ground up and knew something about hiring good people.”
Sadly, Mr. Musk is confused. He wasn’t hired to add good people to staff. He was hired to randomly fire people. The one time he did that, at Twitter, he collapsed revenue costing him 10s of billions. And he never built a company from scratch. SpaceX is closest, but that’s just another government funded boondoggle. Musk is a brilliant showman and con artist. That’s where he is most useful.
Thank you.
how many rockets have you personally sucessfully launched into space? how many booster rocket stages have you manage to catch in mid air and reuse.
There is a conman here, but I think he’s in your mirror..
“But just because someone was hired on a DEI program does not make them incompetent.”
Let’s turn this on its head: WE WANT PEOPLE HIRED IN KEY POSITIONS that are VERIFIED AS COMPETENT and EXCEL ON TESTS.
What gets me is that I got the sense that the PRIMARY mission was to hire DEI’s, not the other way around (a secondary consideration).
We will likely never know unless someone in the Biden admin admits that the goals include RAW NUMBER INCREASES OF DEI, no matter their qualifications.
They are JUST CLEVER ENOUGH to not let that get out!
p.s. For the record, I hired a gay man into a key Marketing Dept. post when I ran my company. His work, graphics, was BRILLIANT.
He was also a fun guy to hang with because he was a Conservative Gay which was rare at the time (1980’s).
okay , that’s enough virtue signalling for the day………………..
Seems like some sensationalized reporting..
I doubt it was all that dramatic.
Agreed. I haven’t found a link to the actual footage. I’d like to draw my own conclusions rather than accept the adjectives and adverbs from NYT.
The salmon was not wild, it was farm raised. Trump drank Coke zero. They used plastic straws. The internet is aghast.
how long can this madness continue, next Trump will be driving a garbage truck to clean up washington and serving McDonalds to football players in the WhiteHouse.
I’m running out of pearls to clutch and with these Chinese tariffs I’m not sure I can afford to replace them. I may have worried myself into a corner..
“assuming we’re still living in a country governed by the US Constitution.”
How quaint.
Ain’t Aint a word knumbskull, its isn’t…
“Isn’t he Quisnt?” a secretly recorded dialogue between Kamala Harris and Larry Fine and Moe Howard.
Mish, or a Constitutional Law expert, why, if USAID was established by JFK via EO in 1961, can it not be abolished by a DJT EO in 2025?
use google, it will save you some time. JFK created it, congress wrote a bill esconing it as a permanent program, the president signed it, making it a federal law. its not hard to find. google it,
DJT can undo the EO. not the Law signed by a former president. But congress can certainly undo it.
I like Ilan and Rubio but i don’t like RFK Jr. He can cut most debt and death, but Ilan didn’t attack him bc he is a sacred cow. Most American are pre diabetic or diabetic without knowing it. If RFK cuts insulin resistance along with chronic stress he will cut wasted money and lives. Metabolic syndrome is like a hybrid car. Instead of using energy for driving we store energy as fat. Our dynamic bodies can easily cut liver fat, visceral and azz fat. Semi clogged arteries plus daily dose of sugar, donuts, or ultra processed food limit – embargo – oxygen supply to the heart. If RFK reduces cancer, heart attacks, dementia..- without pharma – in the next twelve years ==> gov debt will roll back.
I agree. I must admit though that I like RFK. Listening to his remarks delivered to his HHS department give me hope that he can make some progress on this front. Perhaps I’m too gullible, but I appreciate his humility and purported leadership style.
He tends to often start with historical content but gets around to the meat of it at ~12:00.
FULL REMARKS: RFK Jr. Delivers Speech To Health & Human Services Dept. After Becoming HHS Secretary – YouTube
Look at the history of all of Musk’s companies. He is always criticized, and he has succeeded every time.
Consider that the story from the room might not have played out as people claim. He is known for controversial decisions. None of them are from anger. He states his positions clearly and frankly. He is 100% mission focused and doesn’t care about anyone’s feelings.
Does he belong in the room? Ask Trump. No other opinion matters.
He sacrificed Tesla for Trump !
I think Elon realizes Tesla must morph into something besides an electric car company, or go the way of the Edsell. He’s already hinted at fuel cells/proton exchange membranes.
Elon owns one or two other companies besides the electric car company. I think he has one that makes holes in the ground, and one that makes flame throwers, and one that makes rockets and one that makes satellite wifi, and one that makes AI, and one that tries to make computer/brain interfaces, and one that lets people tweet each other on the internet, and those are the unclassified enterprises well known in the public domain.
any DARPA projects or classified work is not likely to reach the eyes and ears of the yabbos that hang out in our neck of the internet round these parts, that have difficulty using AOL mail.
the issue is simple here. Managing private companies is different from managing government entities and that’s because of several factors, such as legislative acts, purpose (private shareholders vs. society at large), etc. By the way, how come DOGE is not questioning all procurement contracts, grants, consulting services, etc of US public entities to Mr Musk companies? The use of public funds is efficient? If DOGE says yes, I don’t believe them.
Seriously? Now apply your statements to education, public and private. Which one is accountable? Which one is not?
HIs $240 million donation to Trump’s campaign paid his way into the room.
Yeah we all know that would be the very first time in history that big money bought a disproportionate say in big politics, right? GTFOH with your selective outrage.
so what did that 1 billion dollars that was paid to Kamala get?
Other than Ellen Degeneres moving to England, I mean..
Isn’t there always “Simmering Anger Over Musk” as He is getting things done, and many, on both sides, don’t like it. Maybe it’s because they ar involved? Maybe the NYT is protecting their own? Maybe Musk is simply a jerk? Many “Brilliant People” have been accused of such behavior. Musk is definitely “Brilliant” so it may be as simple as that perhaps?
Let’s start with one very important Fact: The President (Trump) asked very strongly, for Musk to “Turn It Up A. Notch” He has done exactly what He was Asked To Do, so sour grapes need to be exchanged at the Oval Office, for some tissues and a slap upside the head!
> Marco Rubio was in the Cabinet Room of the White House, listening to one of His Peers explain something He must not have agreed with. As is extremely common in Top Level Meetings with Top Level Players. I see nothing unusual or different here, as in any other just like it in these meetings. Same thing, different day, new players, Move On!!!
> Elon Musk was letting Mr. Rubio have it, accusing him of failing to slash his staff. While Musk was absolutely correct, as they were all ordered to do so, and Musk is clearly the only one 100% active in doing so! Only people I see is the others catching up, but Trump should be telling them that. Musk just wants it done!! Damn babies are working too hard I guess. Man Up!!!
> Mr. Trump finally intervened to defend Mr. Rubio as doing a “great job.” THEN Mr. Trump said the next phase of his plan to cut the federal work force would be conducted with a “scalpel” rather than a “hatchet” — a clear reference to Mr. Musk’s scorched-earth approach. Trumps way of a bitch slap to (little) Marco, and a wake up call to Musk, on WHO The President IS!!
All Is Good!!!
– The Good – Rooting out fraud and ridiculous unauthorized payments is good. Moreover, there is grounds to fire everyone who sent out checks without questioning a single one.
100% Agree!
– The Bad – Sorry DOGE, but a blanket cancellation of all payments is unconstitutional.
Yep! 100% Agree, and it’s being rightfully addressed.
– The Ugly – Elon Musk has no power to do anything but advise the President and make recommendations.
He is advising a lot, and being asked to do so. He is a tad head strong, but that Him and Who He is. I believe brilliance comes with some other elements tied in with the brilliance part. One of the “Primary Reasons” Trump Selected Him IMO! Many affected by said recommendations are opposed for reasons that are not worthy in Musk eyes perhaps. I tend to agree with him, but not sure yet?
The Unfortunate Reality – You “Must Accept” the entire package or don’t Unwrap It!!!
– Also note Elon Musk says he and Trump are shutting down USAID, But Musk has no power to shut down anything.
> That’s Petty, as it’s a play on words…
USAID pays NYT, NYT gets outraged, rinse repeat, change the name of media entity. Its the modern news cycle a self induced shitzophrenia paid by the taxpayers to poison their own minds, minus a cut for all the NGO’s laundering money between transfers.
it would be cheaper to just give the money back to the taxpayers with a note saying please beleive the following horseshit, it will save everybody a fortune.. – and cut out all the middlemen.
A ceo has to talk to mid managers who implement his policy in the front line. Getting reports from senior vp can make him blind. They compete with each others for funds, importance and praises. They always find reasons to expand. They are not the best team ever chosen to serve a president. They run large techno bureaucracies agencies that control the little people. They cannot take orders from somebody who is inferior to them.
The supreme court gave the dem a few small victories before giving Trump the big ones which will enable him and Ilan to cut debt in the next 12 years.
All I can say is to repeat the old adage:
YOU GET WHAT YOU INSPECT, NOT WHAT YOU EXPECT.
A good CEO trusts but verifies performance
Been reading Mish for over a decade now, I think. Besides sex, doom and gloom sells!
Mish told us to buy physical gold, so I did.
Don’t fight the fed, so I didn’t.
Just sitting on a giant pile of gold, bit coin, and fiat.
Patience, have to have patience.
I’m not patient by nature, want it now, fast.
Drooling about a big giant meltdown so the missus and I can finally get off this volcano and into a beach bungalow. On the cheap because musk and Rubio, Trump incinerated the economy.
Wait, we’re waiting.
Some great writers here in the comments, keep it up, I need distraction while I wait.
You OK papa dave?
What do you all think about the fact that doge didn’t use artificial intelligence to fire only the registered demorats federal government workers?
No, really, wouldn’t that be the first thing you’d use AI for?
Seems negligent of doge not to fire only the dems, independents too, libertarians for sure.
Instead of that silly what did you do last week question it would have been “who did you vote for?” Then cross check answers and get rid of anyone not loyal to the cause.
You all saw those town halls meeting, plenty of trumptards got fired.
Negligent.
Pretty much makes everything doge does from here on out irrelevant or at least highly suspicious of more negligence.
What about putin?
What’s his motivation to stop the war?
That would be akin to asking uncle Warren to stop carpet bagging. His business is war, putin is not going to shutter his business!
Have any of you looked up MP?
According to their own press releases they send rare earth ore to China for processing, then China owns the results of said refining. You read their press stuff?
MP were going to build a finery in Cali but that got environmental kigh-bosch, so now they are building the refinery in Texas. Look it up, it on the MP website, not the effing NY times?
So that proves the Ukraine mineral story is a fairy tale. Fairy tales can make money but that is rarer than rare earth!
Panama canal is sewn up, an mostly American corporation will be billing Chinese ships?
Canada would never do as 51st state because they would lean left, so why doesn’t everyone call the potus out on that simple fact?
Gaza deadline looming, or has it passed? The one that potus wants dead bodies kept by sickos? Too many ultimatum to remember. Looking forward to that riviera, lots of gold plated everything.
Biden left Trump tariffs so we know that is how it’s going to stay, up a bit here, down a bit there, get over it, not that big of a deal.
Trump sez he’s going to cut federal funds to California. Newscum sez California is going to intercept all federal taxes paid by California citizens and keep it, end of that discussion.
Mass deportation, what are they up to now, 250 people? Self deportation? Fairy tales you all believe.
In the 1970’s owned D grade apartments in so cal, ice were always trying to raise our vacancy rate! Nothing new here greenhorn…
Miss those tenants, best ever, so well behaved, always on time with the rent, clean, courteous, prolly because if they weren’t we’d have called ice….
Oh I could go on and on, but I seem to have no cards left.
Sleep well comrades.
get back on the ADHD meds, it made your posts shorter and more succinct. Try the Ganymede Gin, it really takes the edge off.
I think in the end, Musk is not as invested as the politicians, because they don’t have a set of corporations to fall back on, this IS the peak of their crappy careers.
If Musk cared more, he’d be more surgical and thorough, what is obvious from his presentation is that he doesn’t seem to take it that seriously, and Trump seems to not care, because he just wants to throw demons at his enemies and watch them rage. And let’s be honest, his enemies asked for it, and they truly deserve it all.
Trump identifies with Musk as a businessman, and wants to be associated with winners. Trump also understands he needs all the politicians on side that he can get. It’s probably only at this superficial level, the political playground that he thinks.
Musk made part of his money through the support of politicians, so he is playing with fire here. He needs to have some of them on his side, if he just alienates them all, by forgetting that his is trampling in their precious little garden, it will probably cost him later – not that much – but a little bit, petty politicians like vendettas.
The problem for most (not just Trump’s deranged enemies), is that Trump no longer cares that much about appeasing anyone, so Trump will let people like Musk loose, like a Roman emperor watching his prized gladiator in the Colusseum butcher his enemies publically. Trump wants to be able to get a few wins, such as saying that he fixed the border and drained the swamp. The downside of relentlessly, almost religiously, criticising Trump is that eventually he becomes numb to it, and it has no effect, it just becomes autistic screeching, with no influence or effect, just a noise.
Musk knows his tenure is limited, and is just treating this like temporary access to the system to push beyond normal online ranting into actually doing things, but I expect he doubts they will stick, but it’s still worth doing anyway, to indicate what needs doing. He doesn’t really care about upsetting anyone, not because he’s a monster, but because he’s an engineer, and it’s not his trainset. He just wants to smash up what he can – most of which needs smashing up – but more surgically, before his DOGE turns into a pumpkin. As the deadline nears, expect more of this.
No one said that draining thr swamp was going to be easy. I agree with Elon, drain it. The strong will survive.
If they drain it legally, it would have a better chance of getting done
Or it might never get done. The reason should be obvious–too many self-interested politicians who talk a good game, but do nothing. The prime example is Biden, who was totally incompetent yet survived 4 years
This may be a time when chaos and disruption are called for, but really, I think it is more of shell game, providing a distraction.
did you miss Trump 2016, when the swamp monsters tried every trick in the book.
Trump saw how that played out. New strategy is to keep them off balance and attacking each other and acting impotent and schizo.
we are a nation of laws, the laws will get sorted out when the dust settles. You dont sue a pilot flying your plane into the ground, you disable him, remove him from the cockpit, safely land and then you PRESS CHARGES.
USAID was about taking away their credit card for lawfare and black bag ops, as well as media propaganda like the 51 intelligence officials signed a letter saying “yaddity, yaddity, ya” and then CNN reports it, then CBS reports CNN reported it and the snowball rolls down the mountain and hits the Whitehouse.
Surely even you must realize you’ve seen this shit show on a 24/7 repeat since 911. Some one is spending an awful lot of tax payer money, lying to everyone always forever.
I doubt they care much about laws.
Somebody compared Musk’s disruptiveness to Robespierre’s “Reign of Terror”.
Looking at the historical record, Robespierre’s reign lasted about one year before the tables were turned on him.
Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Black Lives Matter, Animal Liberation Front, Greenpeace, Greta Thunberg, Earth Liberation Front, Antifa, DNC, SCLC, Jack Smith, Alvin Bragg, Fanny Willis, Teachers Unions, Lloyd Austin, General Charles Q. Brown Jr., FBI, CIA, DOJ had their reign of terror. President Trump turned the tables.
You’re missing the analogy. Robespierre hijacked the French Revolution just like Musk is hijacking the Trump revolution.
You are Robespierre.
To believe the NY Times is to ignore the millions of lies they’ve published.
Agree. FOX is all we should all be listening to.
That is sarcasm, correct?
Oh yeah
As I was saying, the NY Times lies:
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/rubio-slashes-83-usaid-programs-hails-doge-supporting-historic-reform
President Trump says the conversation was respectful. Don’t mimic the liar press.
He talks like that to negate the obvious predictable negativity they will spout about it.
Congress will set everything straight by passing YUGE budgets with YUGE deficits in them. Signed by President Trump.
Fully expect the Federal deficit to be north of $45 Trillion when President Trump leaves.
DOGE is some strange side show. Nothing to see here.
Leaving NATO will have a much bigger impact than DOGE ever could.
Mish,
It would be good to get your thoughts on the “Mar-a-largo Accords” being discuss on the Internets. The video below does a nice summary but the worrying thing is the plan to “soft” default on treasury bonds with 100 year trash bonds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A5qjS680mk
Keep your eyes & ears open, is about all you can do.
The NY Times is not a credible news source.
What exactly is not credible about this reporting?
Trump The President himself stated there was NO clash, he was there himself.
Case closed, move on to the next false story, this one has ran it’s course.
He LIES!
If Trump actually tells the truth about anything it is an accident.
Can I sell you my Melania meme coins?
I never take the NYT seriously, but I’ll take its word over Donald’s.
That it came from the NY Times – don’t you get it? They’ve killed their brand.
Depends on how you look at it.
I lived in western burbs of Chicago for a while, which was a paradise for decades. Whenever a new neighbor ‘from the northeast’ moved in and you saw the NYT on the driveway you can count on them being a douchebag – and you could be sure they would quickly find their way onto the local school boards.
So the NYT was very accurate news, in a sense.
A liar who exaggerates his accomplishments? Where have I seen that before? They say birds of a feather flock together so it seems like everyone is right at home.
I’m starting to gain a little weight eating so much popcorn but it’s so entertaining.
As for air traffic controllers, aviation mechanics, pilots, flight crews, ground crews, there simply isn’t enough people to fill the roles and even less so if “manufacturing” is brought back to America with all these tariffs.
There is only one solution to this mess and if you haven’t figured it out by now then I feel sad for you.
High school shop classes and trade schools.
“The exchange ended with Mr. Trump telling Mr. Duffy that he had to hire people from M.I.T. as air traffic controllers. These air traffic controllers need to be “geniuses,” he said.”
Afraid people from trade schools can’t expect to have jobs according to Mr. Trump.
Would Mish have Musk replaced by Hunter?! LOL
This should come as no surprise to anyone who is paying the least amount of attention.
I hope that many, if not most, of these DOGE cuts stick, but these Cabinet members have been chosen and confirmed to do their job. Good for Rubio standing up for how he thinks it should be done – and I’m not generally a Rubio fan. Way too neocon for me. Remember that the legislative branch is defined in Article One. I hope all these cases get to SCOTUS asap, so if executive orders are struck down, we can figure out where to go next.
<<<<<<Just so this is clear, I fully support the idea behind DOGE.>>>>> Actually, you don’t. You dismiss Musk’s right to implement the idea, his authority and even his personality repeatedly throughout your article. You find his actions personally offensive.
You accept without question the progressive media claim that air traffic controllers have been let go permanently without cause. You ignore Musk’s public request for retired air traffic controllers to come back to the service and help out with a crisis that started years ago. And that includes the graduates of the air traffic controller school that used to guarantee movement into employment but now do not move onto the job because they don’t meet DEI requirements.
You even imply that foreign nationals receiving unaudited USAID funds overseas have a right under the U.S. constitution to continue to receive those funds as long as some beyond supervision, civil servant wants to continue giving it to them. That the U.S. constitution protects those recipients.
There’s only one guy Mish hates more than Trump . . . Elon.
The point of firing DEI hires is to fire DEI. You can fire and rehire, based on non-DEI criteria, just use a normal performance review, it’s not complicated.
What is the definition of a “bad veteran”? These guys (and they are mostly guys) risked their lives for this country. A little bit of respect from Trump, the master of the bone spurs, and Musk, the South African immigrant who never served, would be expected.
The 275 year old guy on social security who was at Valley Forge, too.
And you believe this because Trump said so?
No. Because the department published a graph showing the distribution of people carried on the books spread over different age groups. An astonishing number were over one hundred and fifty years old with some over 200 years old.
In the article, Trump suggests hiring air traffic controllers with a degree from MIT. We are doomed.
A degree seems less relevant to that type of job, than nerves of steel and sound judgement.
Rubio and Musk sword play is Too Little Too Late.
Musk is merely “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic”
Interestingly, during the Titanic’s sinking, some deck chairs were thrown into the water to serve as flotation devices, and the ship’s band famously continued playing music to calm passengers. These actions, while symbolic and meaningful to some, had little practical effect in saving lives.
Make the cuts, WIDE and DEEP. Pull the plug and drain the swap. Term Limits best be priority #1.
I just read where the new CR is going to fund USAID.
Now that’s BS! At some point well before his 2026 mandate runs out, Musk is just going to throw up his hands and say enough is enough, exiting stage left.
As I’ve said main times over the last few weeks:
Nobody is serious about making real cuts. If they were, they’d have Trump use the Impoundment Act of 1974 which would then require Congress to vote on record within 45 days to allow or deny the impoundment. We’ve had these massive CR’s for years now creating all sorts of waste with no time to review them, and it’s not until DOGE is the curtain really being pulled back.
Because with USAID under the control of Trump/Rubio now, why not spend it on the new teams troops this go round. lol
If by that you mean fund border security, then hell yes!
When billionaires get their hands at the helm of government, instead of paying off the captain, it’s because they don’t trust the captain’s ability to steer the Titanic away from the iceberg.
It’s the New York Times – the originators of Fake News looking to stir up controversy.
Getting rid of waste, fraud, and abuse in federal agencies seems like sausage-making.
Those who go to DC to get rich, and there are plenty, will not give up easily.
I’m interested in what happens to the cash once the receivers get it. I will bet that a good chunk returns to DC or their proxies.
That Musk is such a bitch.
Elon invested a lot of money to be where he is. He needs to get his money back. Leave the guy alone.
First thing we learned in MPA (Masters of Public Administration) school was that business and government are different. Different bottom lines. For business it is profit. For government it is fairness and equity. You cant expect a hyperactive businessdude like Felon Musk, who made most of his money on government contracts, to do anything but run thru the hallways firing anyone and everyone. He is in the wrong job, but he likes power, and with Hindenburg dying in the corner, he’s gonna push till he’s stopped. Everything Musk is doing is illegal, stupid and will save no money in the end. This is just another MBA assignment run amok.
The problem is that Congress in our modern era is highly corrupt. So, if they are the ones to decide whether an agency goes or gets funded, then there is really no oversight. To that point, I have not seen or read about any agency really getting audited by Congress other than their dog and pony shows on CSPAN.
The government can audit any company at any time through several agencies. Yet, DC screams when a guy from the private sector wants to audit them.
Audited in what manner? If you are referring to a financial statement audit then every agency is required by law to have a yearly financial statement audit. These audits take months to complete and test for a variety of fraudulent practices. These audits are primarily performed by private sector accounting firms. That’s why you hear about the DoD not passing it’s yearly audit.
You lost me at “equity” … “equity” was never what government was about. Government is about spending the public’s money on things the public wants, primarily defence, security, rule of law, and regulations. The rest is extra fluff and guff.
– For business it is profit.
> Business 101, but “Profit” is the Motivator.
– For government it is fairness and equity.
> What? Not since I’ve been alive it hasn’t been. They recently tried a colossal error in “The DEI Movement” which was and is, the complete opposite of “Fairness” Stop with the Equity nonsense too, as it’s not earned, but rather a feeling. We need “Hard Work” and not “Is your wrist sore, turning that screw driver” mentality that gets nothing done.
Government should be Small, Efficient, Out of the way, and not meaningful in any Emotional way.
Run an Excellent Military, Keep Taxes Low, Balance Your Budgets Each Year, No Pensions, but 401K Plans, Term Limits on nearly ALL Government Jobs (a necessity imo), ETC.
“…For government it is fairness and equity…” Welcome to modern socialism.
Your MPA is about what I would expect from an education with a severe lack of critical thinking, which is reflected in your comments above. My advice: you should study George Orwell’s Animal Farm during a DEI session. Once you can think critically, you will see DEI as brainwashing.
Ultimately, the goal for both government and business should be to maximize performance using the minimum of resources. Anything else is just wasteful. No one benefits from waste.
“CLEF: Today’s win was procedural. I.e., the standards for injunctive relief were met and pending a final decision, payments can continue”.
Honestly. If this is the kind of legal ‘analysis’ you are getting you need a new lawyer.
This is not correct. Not even close. Roberts threw the case back to the district court and essentially said (1) the deadline you originally set has passed (2) come up with a new plan (3) determine what you might do if the administration refuses to comply with the new plan.
There was nothing in SCOTUS opinion that told the govt to pay out anything. Not to begin, and certainly not to ‘continue’. You can’t continue something that has not begun.
In addition, the district court is staring down the barrel of 4 vigorous dissents. Which sends a clear message that (1) cert will be granted on the merits of it gets that far and (2) whatever the district court does will be scrutinized word for word. The dual citizen defund the police Marxist judge with almost zero experience has no room for error. But he will make one. And the appeal will be successful the 2nd time. Or if not, the third time.
Musk said the anti-body reaction would be intense, extreme. Trump is in these meetings and in charge.
Claiming air traffic controllers each have a piece of safety and safety is diminished if a single controller is fired is wrong. Who here has ever worked where the majority of work is NOT done by a small minority? Musk is safe operating inside that truism.