A single day of Trump and Musk's cost-cutting campaign remakes huge
sections of government
[March 08, 2025]
By CHRIS MEGERIAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — A series of decisions revealed Friday provided a
glimpse of the turmoil engulfing federal agencies since President Donald
Trump and Elon Musk launched their campaign of disruption, upending how
government functions in ways big and small.
Some changes appeared designed to increase political control over
agencies that have historically operated with some degree of autonomy,
such as requiring Environmental Protection Agency officials to seek
approval from the Department of Government Efficiency for any contracts
exceeding $50,000.
Other directives increased burdens on federal workers, who have already
endured insults, layoffs and threats from the president and other top
officials. For example, government credit cards issued to civilian
employees at the Pentagon were altered to have a $1 limit, choking off
their ability to travel for work.
The Transportation Security Administration became another target. The
administration canceled a collective bargaining agreement with 47,000
workers who screen travelers and luggage at airports around the country,
eliminating union protections in a possible prelude to layoffs or
privatization.
The cascading developments are only a fraction of the upheaval that's
taken place since Trump took office, but they still reshaped how
hundreds of thousands of public servants do their jobs, with potentially
enduring consequences. The ongoing shakeup is much more intense than the
typical whiplash that Washington endures when one administration gives
way to another, raising fundamental questions about how government will
function under a president who has viewed civil servants as an obstacle
to his agenda.
The White House has wrestled with political blowback over Musk’s role
and legal challenges that have tried to block or slow down his work.
Republicans who are facing growing pressure in contentious town halls
have started to speak up.
“I will fully admit, I think Elon Musk has tweeted first and thought
second sometimes,” said Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., during a virtual
meeting with constituents on Friday. “He has plunged ahead without
necessarily knowing and understanding what he legally has to do or what
he is going to be doing.”
Mistakes are being made
The overhaul of the federal government is happening at lightning speed,
reflecting years of preparation by Trump's allies and the president's
decision to grant Musk sweeping influence over his administration. Musk,
a billionaire entrepreneur with no previous experience in public
service, has shown no interest in slowing down despite admitting that
he'll make mistakes in his crusade to slash spending and downsize the
workforce.
The government is facing even more dramatic changes in the coming weeks
and months. Trump has directed agencies to prepare plans for widespread
layoffs, known as reductions in force, that will likely require more
limited operations at agencies that provide critical services.
The Department of Veterans Affairs could shed 80,000 employees, while
the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration are
considering plans that would cut their workforces in half.
Trump has vowed not to reduce Social Security benefits, but Democrats
argue that layoffs would make it harder to deliver payments to 72.5
million people, including retirees and children.
There are also concerns that politics could interfere with Social
Security. Trump has feuded over transgender issues with Maine Democratic
Gov. Janet Mills, and his administration recently said children born in
the state would no longer have a Social Security number assigned at
birth. Instead, parents would have to apply for one at a local office.
Leland Dudek, the acting commissioner of Social Security, rescinded the
order on Friday.
“In retrospect, I realize that ending these contracts created an undue
burden on the people of Maine, which was not the intent,” he said in a
statement. Dudek added that “as a leader, I will admit my mistakes and
make them right.”
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Elon Musk takes a photo as he arrives before President Donald Trump
addresses a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the
U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia
Demaree Nikhinson)
A startup mindset takes hold
More than a month after Trump took office, there’s still confusion
about Musk’s authority. In public statements and legal filings,
administration officials have insisted that Musk does not actually
run DOGE and has no direct authority over budgets.
But Trump has contradicted both statements. He said Tuesday that
DOGE is “headed by Elon Musk” in a prime-time speech to a joint
session of Congress, and he said Thursday that “Elon will do the
cutting” if agency leaders don’t reduce their spending.
Their approach has energized people like David Sacks, a venture
capitalist serving as a Trump adviser on cryptocurrency and
artificial intelligence, who praised the administration as moving
“faster than any startup that I’ve been part of.”
Trump denied reports of friction between Musk and Cabinet officials,
particularly Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during a meeting
Thursday.
“Elon gets along great with Marco,” the president said. The State
Department had no immediate comment.
Norm Eisen, executive chair of State Democracy Defenders Fund, an
organization that has been suing the Trump administration, said the
president “made clear that Musk and DOGE have been calling the
shots.”
Musk serves as a presidential adviser, not a Senate-confirmed
official, which Eisen argued makes his role unconstitutional. He
said Trump's comments are "an admission that the vast chaos that
Musk and DOGE have wrought without proper approval and documentation
is illegal — and so must be completely unwound.”
Trump is using executive orders to reshape government
Many of the changes sweeping through Washington were ignited by
Trump's executive orders. One order issued last week said agencies
must develop new systems for distributing and justifying payments so
they can be monitored by DOGE representatives.
The EPA distributed guidance intended to ensure compliance.
“Any assistance agreement, contract or interagency agreement
transaction (valued at) $50,000 or greater must receive approval
from an EPA DOGE team member," said the documents obtained by The
Associated Press.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said the involvement
of Musk’s “unvetted, inexperienced team raises serious concerns
about improper external influence on specialized agency
decision-making.”
Republicans have shied away from holding town hall meetings with
constituents after critics started using them to vent their
frustration.
Some protesters gathered outside Huizenga's district office in
Holland, Michigan, calling on him to answer questions in person.
“I would like to ask him why he thinks that someone like Musk can go
in and simply blow up agencies without seemingly even knowing what
they’re doing,” said Linda Visscher, a Holland resident.
She said increasing the efficiency of government was a good idea,
but she doesn't agree with “just taking the blowtorch to it."
____
Associated Press reporters Lolita Baldor, Matthew Daly, Fatima
Hussein and Matthew Lee in Washington; Joey Cappelletti in Holland,
Michigan; and Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine, contributed to
this report.
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