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.

Special election on Tuesday will fill the unexpired term of the late Senate President Dominick Ruggerio
A visit to Vineyard Wind 1 raises questions about the company’s claims, with far fewer turbines spinning than reported and little explanation from project leaders
Ruling affirms state law that limits open-carry permits to those who can show a specific need
Meg Disanto, 42-year-old Providence resident, says the bridge traffic got so bad that she decided to have her kids change schools
Pope recognizes first miracle of his papacy, crediting prayers to a 19th-century Spanish priest for reviving an infant at a Pawtucket hospital