Category: “Dead Skunk in The Middle of The Road”

Issues and events that stink to high heaven

Elon Musk’s newest job title is literally ‘unlisted’

Insider

Elon Musk’s newest job title is literally ‘unlisted’

Jack Newsham – February 6, 2025

Elon Musk’s newest job title is literally ‘unlisted’
  • Elon Musk has been described as the leader of the “Department of Government Efficiency.”
  • But his job in the White House is “unlisted,” according to a record seen by Business Insider.
  • White House and DOGE representatives haven’t responded to questions about who runs DOGE.

Elon Musk officially works for the government now. But what, exactly, is his job? More precisely, what is his job title?

It’s a surprisingly hard question to answer. A White House record seen by Business Insider says his job is simply “unlisted.”

Though Musk has a White House access badge as of January 20 and has been widely described as the leader of DOGE, the White House has not officially confirmed Musk’s title. His X profile describes him as “White House Tech Support.”

When Donald Trump folded Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” into the White House, he did it by rebranding the US Digital Service — an Obama-era effort to bring modern software-development practices to the federal government — as the “US DOGE Service.” He also moved it under his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and created a “temporary organization” that would enable the new USDS administrator to recruit people faster, without going through standard federal hiring procedures.

But the order didn’t say who the USDS administrator was, nor did any of Trump’s statements designating leaders of various departments and offices. Ted Carstensen, who had been the deputy administrator of the USDS since last year, told staff on Thursday that it would be his last day.

“They’d better figure out his title,” said Richard Painter, a government-ethics expert and persistent Trump critic. “The structure of this organization needs to be explained to the American people.”

In a January 27 report, the Congressional Research Service said that “a USDS administrator has not yet been named.” House Democrats also flagged in a letter to the leader of the Small Business Administration on Monday that they’d seen “no formal communications from the White House naming Elon Musk as Administrator.”

But the presumption that Musk leads the office or has some defined official authority seems widespread. Sen. Elizabeth Warren addressed a letter to him as “Administrator” of the “Department of Government Efficiency.” Earlier this week, a Texas state official published a press release praising “DOGE Chairman Elon Musk” for taking steps to shut down the US Agency for International Development, or USAID.

Musk, the White House Press Office, and Katie Miller, whom Trump has described as a DOGE advisor, didn’t respond to inquiries about who leads the USDS. The White House has said Musk is a “special government employee,” which means he can work for only 130 days a year. But that’s a classification, not a title.

Musk is known for being loose with titles. At Tesla, he gave himself the title of “technoking” in 2021. At Twitter, now known as X, his title was “chief twit.” “No idea who the CEO is,” he said in a 2022 post.

Even Tesla doesn’t seem to be sure what Musk’s government role is. In its annual report published on January 29, Tesla said Musk had management roles at several companies and was “involved in other ventures and with the Department of Government Efficiency.”

The ambiguity extends beyond Musk himself. Some of the techies linked to Musk who have gone to work at the Office of Personnel Management and agencies like the Treasury Department have nebulous titles like “senior advisor” and “expert.”

“I think that this is an intentional strategy to create confusion as to whether he actually has a formal title or whether he is just a part-time unpaid advisor to the president,” said John Pelissero, the director of government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. “If you are clear that if he is the administrator of DOGE, then he has to comply with various rules that are in place that apply to other executive branch employees.”

Painter, the ethics lawyer, suggested the White House may be trying to keep Musk’s financial disclosures out of the public eye. The executive order that renamed USDS also moved it out of the Office of Management and Budget and into the White House Office, a part of the executive branch that is harder for Congress and others to scrutinize because of executive privilege.

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What is 50501? What to know about movement sparking protests around the US

USA Today

What is 50501? What to know about movement sparking protests around the US

Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY – February 5, 2025

Protesters gathered around the U.S. Wednesday in a coordinated effort originating from social media known as the 50501 movement.

“50501 is a call for 50 protests in 50 states on 1 day,” reads a website that lists the protests across the country and encourages people to spread its anti-Trump messages online.

Protest organizers describe the push as a “decentralized rapid response to the anti-democratic, destructive, and, in many cases, illegal actions being undertaken by the Trump administration and his plutocrats,” the “Build the Resistance” website states.

Kay Evert, an organizer involved in the movement, told USA TODAY the effort started as an idea posted on Reddit and several activist organizations hopped in to help consolidate, organize and promote the protests.

“We’re here trying to keep them going forward,” she said. “This is going to bring up so much …. no one can ignore this, right? We want to have that momentum continue on.”

A post in the 50501 subreddit Wednesday morning claims the movement has evolved in less than two weeks, amassed 72,000 participants, and planned 67 protests across 40 states.

President Trump’s stunning start: Reshape the government, remake the world

50501 movement partners with Political Revolution

The 50501 moderators also partnered with Political Revolution, a PAC and volunteer-only activist organization founded out of the conclusion of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign in 2016.

The 50501 movement and Political Revolution said in a joint press release they are calling for the removal or resignation of President Donald Trump, investigations into his administration appointees including Elon Musk, the repeal of “oppressive” executive orders and the restoration of diversity, equity and inclusion frameworks.

Evert said protests are also aimed at Project 2025, the conservative agenda that re-entered the public conversations as Democrats condemned some early Trump administration moves.

“Our goal is to unite the American people against our common enemy: the Trump administration, anyone involved in dismantling our democracy, and anyone who wishes to divide us by our differences instead of unite us by what makes us American,” the joint press release states.

Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. 

‘Anti-Trumpers’ plan protests in every state on Wednesday. What’s happening in Georgia?

Savannah Morning News

‘Anti-Trumpers’ plan protests in every state on Wednesday. What’s happening in Georgia?

Vanessa Countryman, Savannah Morning News – February 4, 2025

A group calling themselves the “50501 Movement” are planning protests across the country, and in Georgia, on Wednesday, Feb. 5.

The group claims to be fighting “fascism” by protesting against President Donald Trump and his actions in office.

How many people are in the 50501 Movement?
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as he signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 31, 2025.
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as he signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 31, 2025.

The movement has platforms, including a website and social media accounts, but the number of members is unclear. The Instagram account has nearly 7,000 followers and its official Bluesky account has over 10,000 followers.

Where are people protesting in Georgia against Trump?

The group is planning to hold protests mostly at each state’s capitol building. Georgia’s will be held at Centennial Park in Atlanta at 2 p.m., according the groups social media.

More groups are forming around the state, including in Augusta at the Richmond County Courthouse from 4 to 7 p.m.

Why are people protesting against Donald Trump?

They are protesting Project 2025 because they believe that the president is attempting to destroy freedoms and human rights.

What is Project 2025?

Project 2025 is a movement started by over 100 conservative organizations. This movement is intended to get rid of the so-called ‘Deep State’ and give the government back to the people, according to its website. Here is a list of some of its policy suggestions:

  • Secure the border, finish building the wall, and deport illegal aliens
  • De-weaponize the Federal Government by increasing accountability and oversight of the FBI and DOJ
  • Unleash American energy production to reduce energy prices
  • Cut the growth of government spending to reduce inflation
  • Make federal bureaucrats more accountable to the democratically elected President and Congress
  • Improve education by moving control and funding of education from DC bureaucrats directly to parents and state and local governments
  • Ban biological males from competing in women’s sports

Vanessa Countryman is the Trending Topics Reporter for the the Deep South Connect Team Georgia.

How Trump’s tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China could impact U.S. consumers

Independent

How Trump’s tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China could impact U.S. consumers

Ariana Baio – January 31, 2025

Oil, toys, vegetables and electronics are just some of the items imported to the U.S. from Mexico, Canada and China that could soon cost Americans more under Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs.

Trump announced he will implement a 25 percent tariff on Canada and Mexico for all imported goods. China, meanwhile, will face face an additional 10 percent  tariff. Trump says the additional charges are part of an effort to curtail “crime and drugs” coming into the U.S. and slow the number of illegal border crossings.

Though tariffs are designed to promote domestic production and purchasing by taxing imported goods, the increase in cost typically falls on consumers, not foreign governments. Numerous economic experts have warned that Trump’s tariffs on goods from those three countries could lead to price spikes and inflation – a concern shared by many voters who said they backed Trump.

The U.S. imports a host of goods from Canada, Mexico and China directly as well as supplies for products made in America. Here Here’s what resources, materials or products come from those countries:

Donald Trump has proposed tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada - which provide a host of goods to the U.S. such as toys, lumber and food (AFP via Getty Images)
Donald Trump has proposed tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada – which provide a host of goods to the U.S. such as toys, lumber and food (AFP via Getty Images)
Crude Oil

Canada is the largest supplier of crude oil to the U.S. with more than 3.8 million barrels per day, or 60 percent of U.S. crude oil imports, coming from its northern neighbor.

Although the U.S. produces large quantities of crude oil every day, it makes more economic sense to import it. Crude oil produced in the U.S. is considered “light” compared to the “heavy” oil produced in Canada and the Middle East.

This means the U.S. relies on imports for “heavy” oil. Importing from Canada, which is close by and doesn’t require as much transportation as other countries such as those in the Middle East, makes it more accessible.

Gasoline is made from crude oil and price spikes in oil can lead to more pain at the pump.

Many experts say Trump’s threatened tariffs will lead to price increases (Getty Images)
Many experts say Trump’s threatened tariffs will lead to price increases (Getty Images)

“A 25% tariff on Canadian oil would have huge impacts to #gasprices in the Great Lakes, Midwest & Rockies, which are major markets where refiners process Canadian oil. You can’t simply process different oil overnight. It would take investments/years. More U.S. supply wouldn’t help,” warned gas price expert Patrick De Haan on X.

De Haan, an industry leader with GasBuddy.com, further warned that oil refineries in the U.S. have shrunken over the last four years – making it harder for the U.S. to increase its production in gasoline.

“Total impact to #gasprices in these areas could be 25-75c/gal, dependent on season and refining factors as well if tariffs go through,” De Haan added.

Motor vehicles and parts

Mexico is the largest exporter of vehicles, vehicle parts and vehicle accessories to the U.S. than any other country making up 27 percent of all imports from Mexico.

Importing auto parts abroad and then assembling them in the U.S. is a cheaper alternative than manufacturing and assembling domestically. Tariffs would increase the cost of most cars, though it’s not clear how much.

Patrick Anderson, chief executive of Anderson Economic Group, a consulting firm in Michigan, told the New York Times: “There is probably not a single assembly plant in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Texas that would not immediately be affected by a 25 percent tariff.”

Tariffs “would spell disaster for the U.S. auto industry,” analysts at Bernstein said in a note to investors, according to the Times. But, they added, they doubt Trump will follow through.

“Given the wide-ranging negative implications for industrial production in the U.S., we expect this is unlikely to happen in practice,” the Bernstein analysts said.

Electronic Equipment

More than a quarter of U.S. imports from China fall under the electronic equipment, machinery and products category.

These include items such as television sets, smartphones, monitors, projects and more. All of them could see price increases if tariffs are imposed and passed on to consumers.

Mexico too is also a major producer of electronics not only in the U.S. but across the globe.

“Mexico has over 730 plants manufacturing audio and video, telecommunications, computer equipment, and related parts. It is the largest exporter of flat-screen TVs in the world, the third-largest exporter of computers, and the eighth-largest producer of electronics in the world,” consulting firm IVEMSA, according to PC Mag.

Experts are warning that many of electronics sold in America come from Mexico, Canada and China and could see price increases (AP)
Experts are warning that many of electronics sold in America come from Mexico, Canada and China and could see price increases (AP)
Sugar

Among Mexico’s largest exports to the U.S. are sugar and sweeteners. The U.S. spends more than $700 million importing sugar directly from Mexico.

More than 445,000 metric tons of sugar were imported to U.S. ports from Mexico between October 2023 and September 2024.

Fresh vegetables and fruit

The U.S. spends more than $20 billion annually importing horticultural agricultural products from Canada and Mexico. Tomatoes, avocados, peppers, strawberries, lemons, limes, broccoli, cauliflower and so much more produce is imported into the U.S. from Mexico.

Canada supplies the U.S. with mushrooms, potatoes and more.

All of those items could see price increases with tariffs. That would hit American consumers hard as grocery prices have already risen by about 25 percent since 2020. Many voters used groceries as an example of how inflation impacted their day-to-day lives, so another price increase in food could be devastating to households.

Meat

Beef and beef products are often imported from Canada and Mexico and the amount imported has only risen over the last three years.

An analysis by Third Way found that the average cost of 3lbs of frozen beef in America is $26.67. A 10 percent tariff on all goods, with a 60 percent tariff on goods from China, would lead to a price jump for the same meat to $27.76.

Consumers have already seen grocery prices jump by 25 percent since 2020, but Trump’s proposed tariffs could lead to more price increases (AP)
Consumers have already seen grocery prices jump by 25 percent since 2020, but Trump’s proposed tariffs could lead to more price increases (AP)
Toys

China’s third largest export to the U.S. are toys, games and sports requisites because they are cheaper to manufacture overseas.

Though the idea of tariffs is to promote domestic production, the chief executive of Basic Fun, the maker of Fischer-Price and Care Bears, told The New York Post there is “no manufacturing base for toys in the U.S. anymore.”

The same analysis by Third Way estimated the cost of an average board game going from $14.87 to $17.85 under Trump’s tariffs.

Wood, plastics and other materials

All three countries provide the U.S. with an abundance of materials like wood, plastics, iron, textiles and more.

Some companies have already warned that tariffs on materials could lead to a spike increase, even for products assembled in America.

“People generally don’t understand how dependent the global economy is for those kinds of intermediate goods, raw materials, that we sort of take for granted,” Willy Shih, an economist at Harvard Business School, told PackagingDive.com.

“They need to understand where their exposures are,” he said. “A lot of times, it’ll be in surprising areas, because your exposure may be at your supplier level. Your tier two supplier may have exposure to tariffs and you may not know, but the first thing you got to do is understand all that.”

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Good Morning America: These prices could climb within days if Trump slaps tariffs on Canada and Mexico

trump begins his first war: Trump Reveals When His Tariffs on Mexico and Canada Will Kick In

The Daily Beast

Trump Reveals When His Tariffs on Mexico and Canada Will Kick In

Emell Derra Adolphus – January 30, 2025

Claudia Sheinbaum, Donald Trump, and Justin Trudeau.
The Daily Beast/Getty

President Donald Trump affirmed on Thursday that imports from U.S. allies Mexico and Canada will be hit with a 25 percent tariff starting on Saturday.

Speaking to the press from the Oval Office, Trump said that his administration will follow through in announcing tariffs on America’s neighboring countries for “a number of reasons”—chiefly among them being an alleged influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, reported The Hill.

On his first day in office, Trump issued a proclamation declaring a state of emergency at America’s southern border.

Thirty-six hours later, the declaration enabled the Department of Defense to send 1,500 troops to the region to work on the placement of barriers and other related actions to deter illegal crossings. According to DOD report, the troops were on standby in Southern California to help combat the Los Angeles County wildfires.

“For the past four years, the federal government has abdicated its responsibility to enforce the border, resulting in a catastrophic immigration crisis for the United States,” declared Trump’s proclamation. However, when Congress was close to passing a bipartisan border security bill in 2024, Trump allegedly pressured Republican allies to kill the bill so he could continue hammering Democrats about border chaos during his campaign, reported CNN.

President Donald Trump talks with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. / NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump talks with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. / NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP via Getty Images

Trump also cited an influx of drugs, specifically fentanyl, crossing into the United States—as well as a trade deficit—as reason for implementing tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

“I’ll be putting the tariff of 25 percent on Canada and Mexico, and we will really have to do that because we have very big deficits with those countries,” he said. “Those tariffs may or may not rise with time.”

Mexico and Canada are major exporters of gas, food and automobiles to the U.S., with several U.S.-based automobile manufacturers shipping cars back and forth across America’s borders during the manufacturing process.

The president said that his administration has not yet decided on whether it would levy tariffs on oil imports, reported Reuters.

“We may or may not. We’re going to make that determination probably tonight,” said Trump. He added that this would partly depend on prices and on whether the two countries “treat us properly.”

Trump Decides Presser on D.C. Plane Crash Is Best Time for a Joke

The New Republic – Opinion

Trump Decides Presser on D.C. Plane Crash Is Best Time for a Joke

Edith Olmsted – January 30, 2025

Donald Trump just will not take Wednesday night’s deadly aviation collision seriously.

While signing yet another batch of executive orders on Thursday, the president was asked whether he planned to visit the site of the deadly midair crash between a military helicopter and an American Airlines flight, which killed all 67 people on board the two aircraft.

“I have a plan to visit, not the site, because why don’t you tell me, what’s the site? The water?” Trump said. “You want me to go swimming?”

Trump followed up his flippant response by saying he planned to meet with some of the family members of those who had died in the crash.

The bodies of at least 28 people had been recovered from the Potomac River by Thursday evening, as recovery operations continued, according to the Associated Press.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump had suggested that the Biden administration’s diversity, equity, and inclusion hiring practices were to blame for the crash, specifically pointing to the Federal Aviation Administration’s practice of hiring people with “targeted disabilities.” The FAA published a report contradicting this outlandish and unserious claim, saying that staffing in the air traffic control tower was “not normal” on Wednesday night when the crash occurred.

It’s also worth noting that Trump went on television to speak about the crash hours before he had actually briefed on the incident. Meanwhile, National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman said Thursday it is too early to tell what exactly caused the crash.

Trump makes moves to expand his power, sparking chaos and a possible constitutional crisis

Associated Press

Trump makes moves to expand his power, sparking chaos and a possible constitutional crisis

Nicholas Riccardi – January 29, 2025

President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the 2025 House Republican Members Conference Dinner at Trump National Doral Miami in Doral, Fla., Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Just a little over a week into his second term, President Donald Trump took steps to maximize his power, sparking chaos and what critics contend is a constitutional crisis as he challenges the separation of powers that have defined American government for more than 200 years.

The new administration’s most provocative move came this week, as it announced it would temporarily halt federal payments to ensure they complied with Trump’s orders barring diversity programs. The technical-sounding directive had enormous immediate impact before it was blocked by a federal judge, potentially pulling trillions of dollars from police departments, domestic violence shelters, nutrition services and disaster relief programs that rely on federal grants. The administration on Wednesday rescinded the order.

Though the Republican administration denied Medicaid was affected, it acknowledged the online portal allowing states to file for reimbursement from the program was shut down for part of Tuesday in what it insisted was an error.

Legal experts noted the president is explicitly forbidden from cutting off spending for programs that Congress has approved. The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to appropriate money and requires the executive to pay it out. A 50-year-old law known as the Impoundment Control Act makes that explicit by prohibiting the president from halting payments on grants or other programs approved by Congress.

“The thing that prevents the president from being an absolute monarch is Congress controls the power of the purse strings,” said Josh Chafetz, a law professor at Georgetown University, adding that even a temporary freeze violates the law. “It’s what guarantees there’s a check on the presidency.”

Democrats and other critics said the move was blatantly unconstitutional.

“What happened last night is the most direct assault on the authority of Congress, I believe, in the history of the United States,” Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine, said Tuesday.

While some Republicans were critical, most were supportive.

“I think he is testing the limits of his power, and I don’t think any of us are surprised by it,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican who is close with Trump.

At first blush, the Trump administration appeared to be following the correct procedures in identifying potential spending cuts, and the Impoundment Control Act outlines a procedure for how they could become permanent, said Rachel Snyderman, a former official at the Office of Management and Budget who is now at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Congress must eventually sign off on any cuts the administration wants to make, Snyderman said, though she noted that no president since Bill Clinton, a Democrat, has been successful in getting that done. Congress did not act on $14 billion in impoundment cuts Trump proposed during his prior term, she said.

“We have to see what the next steps are,” Snyderman said.

The attempt to halt grants came after Trump, who during the campaign pledged to be “a dictator on day one,” has taken a number of provocative moves to challenge legal constraints on his power. He fired the inspectors general of his Cabinet agencies without giving Congress the warning required by law, declared that there is an immigrant “invasion” despite low numbers of border crossings, is requiring loyalty pledges from new hires, challenged the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship and is moving career staff out of key positions at the Department of Justice to ensure his loyalists control investigations and prosecutions.

On Tuesday evening, the new administration made its latest move, trying to prune the federal workforce by offering pay until the end of September for those who agree to resign by the end of next week.

The Trump actions have all led to a cascade of court challenges contending he has overstepped his constitutional bounds. A federal judge in Seattle has already put on hold Trump’s attempt to revoke birthright citizenship, calling it a blatant violation of the nation’s foundational legal document. On Tuesday, nonprofit groups persuaded a federal judge in Washington to put the administration’s spending freeze order on hold until a fuller hearing on Feb. 3.

Democratic attorneys general also rushed to court to block the order. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, a Democrat, said the swiftness of the court action against Trump’s spending freeze demonstrates the “carelessness” of the order.

“My hope is that the president, working with Congress, can identify whatever his priorities are and can work through the normal constitutional order that is well established that limits the power of Democratic and Republican presidents,” he said.

The grant freeze — administration officials described it as a “pause” — fit with a long-sought goal of some Trump allies, including his nominee to run the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, to challenge the constitutionality of the Impoundment Control Act. They contend the president, as the person in charge of distributing funds, should be able to have some control over how the money goes out.

Though there’s little doubt the new administration wanted a court fight over its power to control spending, experts agree that this was likely not the way they hoped to present it.

“This is a really sloppy way of doing this,” said Bill Galston, of the Brookings Institution, adding that he thought it was an administration error. “This is just classic Trump. He believes it’s better to be fast and sloppy than slow and precise.”

In her first press conference, Trump’s new press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, on Tuesday urged organizations that need the grants to call the administration and show how their operations are “in line with the president’s agenda.”

“It’s incumbent on this administration to make sure, again, that every penny is accounted for,” Leavitt said.

Republican lawmakers largely took the freeze in stride.

“This isn’t a huge surprise to me,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota during the House Republican retreat at one of the president’s Florida golf resorts. “Clearly, Donald Trump campaigned in no small part on the idea that the Biden administration was putting out a lot of money that was not consistent with Donald Trump’s values.”

But Democrats and others were furious at the move, which seemed designed to undercut congressional authority.

“If President Trump wants to change our nation’s laws, he has the right to ask Congress to change them,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, said in a statement. “He does not have the right to violate the United States Constitution. He is not a king.”

Chafetz, of Georgetown University, said the lack of pushback from Republican members of Congress was especially alarming because the legislative branch is the one whose powers are most at risk in the latest power play.

Even if Trump loses the legal battle, Chafetz said, he and his followers might feel like they’ve won by pushing things to this extreme.

“Damaging the institutions they don’t like,” he said, “seems to be their whole theory of governance.”

Riccardi reported from Denver. Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Lisa Mascaro in Washington and Morgan Lee in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report.

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I Just Got Trump’s “Buyout” Offer at My Job. Let Me Tell You How That’s Going.

Slate

I Just Got Trump’s “Buyout” Offer at My Job. Let Me Tell You How That’s Going.

Denise Cana – January 29, 2025

The author is a federal civil servant who has been granted the use of a pen name to protect them and their family from reprisals.

The new Trump administration’s effort to both get a grip on and dismantle the federal workforce has also been a dystopian farce, climaxing Tuesday evening, after the Office of Personnel Management sent an email offering what the media has described as a “buyout” to all federal employees. This saga began shortly after Donald Trump took office, when someone asserting the authority of OPM began spamming federal workers with emails demanding a reply. In one breath, the message asked all employees to respond “Yes” to confirm that the system was working, but it also warned employees to be cautious about the contents of emails coming to them. Meanwhile, the note itself was flagged, for recipients with a government email account, as having come from an “[EXTERNAL]” source—and thus not necessarily one to be trusted.

Then, Tuesday night, federal workers were sent an email announcing a “fork in the road.” Again, the message was flagged by government servers as “[EXTERNAL].” This email, much of which was copied and pasted from a similar message sent to Twitter employees after Elon Musk—Trump’s pick to lead his effort to overhaul the civil service, otherwise known as the Department of Government Efficiency—took over that company, proclaims that the federal workforce will be undergoing significant changes. Anyone who didn’t want to participate in this new vision was invited to reply “Resign” to the flagged-as-external email address and collect six months’ salary, without having to perform any additional work, while they looked for a new job. The details of this offer are confusing, conflict with later OPM “FAQs” about the program, and seem to run afoul of long-standing legal caps on severance packages.

Welcome to government by chatbot.

This latest buyout directive is evocative of A.I. gobbledygook, beyond evidently being a copy-and-paste job from Musk’s Twitter exploits. When technologists assess a new A.I. language tool, the go-to metric is generally not the accuracy of its product, or even the consistency of its answers. It is engagement. Substance is pushed aside in pursuit of simply keeping human eyeballs trained on its messages for as long as possible. Once considered a proxy for content’s ability to be “valuable” or “worthwhile,” attention itself has become the commodity we’re after: looks, likes, clicks, play next episode. Unfortunately, one of the easiest ways to engage people is to enrage them.

Like a chatbot in training, the Musk-Miller-Trump administration is not a principled political entity concerned with substance, consistency, or competence. In the administration’s executive order regarding TikTok, for instance, the president endeavored to grant rights to private companies in one paragraph (the DOJ “shall take no action to enforce the Act or impose any penalties against any entity for any noncompliance with the Act”), while specifically disclaiming the gift to TikTok in another (“this order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States”). This was a presidential pinky-swear with his fingers crossed.

Even before Tuesday’s email, the original, outside-the-government Department of Government Efficiency project spearheaded by Musk immediately ran afoul of regulations protecting against corruption that keep our democracy from slipping into an oligarchy. When the administration pivoted to bring the project inside the government, meanwhile, it immediately ran afoul of safeguards against citizen surveillance and privacy protections that keep our democracy from slipping into an autocracy.

Which brings us back to the buyout. Putting aside Musk’s failed promises to Twitter employees who had hoped for a similar buyout, the vision of the federal workforce announced in the email is no more sensible than the TikTok executive order, no more effective at considering governmental protections than the early DOGE efforts. One “pillar” of this supposed new federal workforce presumes the flexible assignment and reassignment of anyone who works for the federal government to whatever task, agency, or group the president wants, whenever he wants. In other words, it assumes that the president can usurp the priority-setting prerogatives exclusive to Congress when it sets its budgets and directs funds toward or away from various mandates.

In another pillar, the vision asserts the president’s right to reclassify federal works to at-will employees. But to do that, he should have to pass new regulations, legislation that would require planning, process, public comment, and (likely) judicial review. And to skip that process, he’d have to revoke the Administrative Procedure Act, a move that should require an act of Congress and (likely) judicial review.

If that sounds like a lot of red tape worth cutting through, think of it this way: If the president can do what this memo suggests he can do to federal workers, then he can do pretty much anything to pretty much anyone at pretty much any time. He can change substantive law on a whim—banking codes, safety regs, union protections, taxes.

These are not the actions of a thoughtful, careful, or competent government. It is not the one envisioned by our founders or present throughout the first nearly two and a half centuries of the American experiment. This is the empty chatter of a bot trained on revenge fantasy scripts that lacks a fourth grader’s understanding of the branches of government and separation of powers.

But, hey, it’s good for grabbing headlines.

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Trump’s Milley retribution sends chilling signal to military brass, critics say

The Hill

Trump’s Milley retribution sends chilling signal to military brass, critics say

Brad Dress – January 29, 2025

Hegseth cutting Milley’s security detail, eyes stripping him of starScroll back up to restore default view.

President Trump this week revoked a security detail for retired Gen. Mark Milley and announced an investigation into the former Joint Chiefs chair’s conduct, enacting promised retribution while also sending a chilling message to military brass.

Trump, who also revoked Milley’s security clearance in orders to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has long clashed with Milley, who has been outspoken against the president in books and public comments.

But taking public revenge against him and launching an investigation are moves with little precedent in civil-military relations, and Democratic senators and experts called his actions reckless and petty.

“I think it is completely unjustified,“ said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “Another act of retribution and revenge that shows the smallness of the president.”

Richard Kohn, emeritus professor at the University of North Carolina and an expert on civil-military relations, said Trump’s move will discourage senior officers from doing their jobs and honestly advising the president, noting a former Joint Chiefs chair has never had their security detail revoked before.

“Trump will be very difficult to deal with because he’s really a very insecure person,” Kohn said. “I think he feels jealous of the legitimacy and the respect that senior officers get in American society. So as a result, it just makes it more difficult for them to do their job and to deal with political leadership in an honorable and candid way.”

Pentagon chief of staff Joe Kasper confirmed that Milley’s security detail and clearance were revoked and that the Defense Department Office of Inspector General will conduct an investigation into Milley’s conduct, which will include a review of whether a star can be revoked from the retired four-star general.

Kasper said that “undermining the chain of command is corrosive to our national security.”

“Restoring accountability is a priority for the Defense Department under President Trump’s leadership,” Kasper said in a statement.

Trump signaled he was out for revenge against Milley on the campaign trail, suggesting at one point the retired general should be executed, and on his first day back in office he decried pardons that former President Biden issued for Milley and other Trump foes.

Just hours later, the Pentagon confirmed that a portrait of Milley recognizing him as a former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was taken down.

But critics say taking away Milley’s security detail is a much more serious move, risking the life of the former highest-ranking military officer who carried out Trump’s orders to strike on a top Iranian commander, Qassem Soleimani, in early 2020.

Trump has also revoked security details for other former officials-turned-critics: former national security adviser John Bolton and former CIA Director Mike Pompeo, both of whom Iran has threatened.

Roger Petersen, a professor of political science emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies civil-military relations, said he was concerned about Trump’s actions creating a more politicized civilian-military environment, particularly among high-ranking officials.

Petersen, the author of “Death, Domination, and State-Building: The US in Iraq and the Future of American Intervention,” also raised concerns that the current chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown, might resign if pressured to adhere to orders.

“That is giving a signal to military officers that if you go against the Trump program, we can reach you even in retirement, and affect your pension and your status,” he said.

Democrats were quick to slam Trump for revoking the security detail for someone he’s feuded with.

“Just like John Bolton, like Pompeo, these folks have been under real threats to their lives,” said Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.). “It’s wrong for the president to do that. We protect these individuals.”

Kelly expressed concern about the impact on the military at large, adding it sends a message that if “you do not fall in line, that there are consequences.”

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Milley “and other former Trump Administration officials continue to face credible, deadly threats from Iran because they carried out President Trump’s order to kill Iranian General Soleimani.”

“It is unconscionable and recklessly negligent for President Trump and Secretary Hegseth to revoke General Milley’s security detail for their own political satisfaction,” he said in a statement. “The Administration has placed Milley and his family in grave danger, and they have an obligation to immediately restore his federal protection.”

Republicans, however, were hesitant to comment on the move, both in person and on social media. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said he was unclear about the revocation of the security deal and hadn’t yet talked to Hegseth. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) did not answer a request for comment on Capitol Hill.

Milley and Trump’s feud has simmered for years. The retired U.S. Army general was tapped by Trump in 2019 to lead the Joint Chiefs, but the two soon clashed over the role of the military in responding to racial justice protesters in 2020. Milley also publicly apologized for appearing in a controversial photo shoot with Trump during the rioting.

Trump has also ripped Milley over reports the general called his Chinese counterpart to assure them that in the final days of Trump’s presidency, there was not a risk of escalating conflict or nuclear war.

Trump has tried to refute reports that Milley stopped him from launching an attack on Iran. The dispute is at the center of a now-shuttered Justice Department classified documents case against Trump, who was cited in an indictment as reading from an apparent classified document to make the case to people that Milley recommended an attack on Iran.

Milley, who retired in 2023, has admitted that he has been a source for anti-Trump commentary in books about his presidency. In the 2024 book “War” by journalist Bob Woodward, Milley called Trump “fascist to the core.”

Trump, in turn, has called Milley a “loser” and said he’s guilty of treason.

It’s unclear what exactly the Defense Department inspector general will investigate regarding Milley’s conduct.

In 2022, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.), who was then in the House, requested the inspector general investigate Milley. But Inspector General Robert Storch, who Trump fired last week, decided to drop the case after finding it unwarranted.

In a statement late Tuesday night, Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot said the inspector general will “conduct an inquiry into the facts and circumstances surrounding Gen. Milley’s conduct so that the Secretary may determine whether it is appropriate to reopen his military grade review determination.”

Milley’s call to his Chinese counterpart to reassure them could potentially be seen as overriding the chain of command, but Milley has also said he had spoken with a civilian counterpart before. Active-duty military have been punished for speaking against civilian authorities, including retired Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, whose aides were caught mocking then-Vice President Biden, leading to former President Obama firing him in 2010.

But most of Milley’s public criticism has come after retirement and not in active duty, analysts say.

Kohn, from the University of North Carolina, said although Milley has spoken a bit too candidly after leaving office, he does not believe there is anything to investigate.

“I don’t think he spoke against Trump. I think he tried to inform people and inform the other political leadership of how he behaved in the last, let’s say, six to eight months of his tenure, and why he did what he did,” he said. “But he didn’t really speak against Trump, except by implication.”

Peter Feaver, also a civil-military relations expert at the University of North Carolina, agreed.

Hegseth cutting Milley’s security detail, eyes stripping him of star

The Hill

Hegseth cutting Milley’s security detail, eyes stripping him of star

Ellen Mitchell – January 28, 2025

Hegseth cutting Milley’s security detail, eyes stripping him of star

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to announce the immediate rescission of the personal security detail and security clearance for former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Army Gen. Mark Milley, several news outlets are reporting.

The Trump administration is also aiming to demote Milley in retirement. Hegseth is expected to direct the Pentagon’s new acting Inspector General to conduct a review board to see if enough evidence exists for the four-star general to be stripped of a star based on his actions to “undermine the chain of command” during President Trump’s first term, multiple senior administration officials told Fox News, which first reported on the plan.

Additionally, a second portrait of Milley inside the Pentagon will be removed as soon as Tuesday night. That portrait sits in the Army’s Marshall Corridor on the third floor and honors Milley’s service as a former chief of staff of the Army. The first portrait of him, which was removed just hours after Trump was sworn into his second term on Jan. 20, depicted his time as the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Taking down both Milley portraits means there will be no imagery of him inside the Pentagon.

Defense Department officials declined to comment on the potential directives, and the White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump and Milley have long had an acrimonious relationship, starting in Trump’s first term, when Milley apologized for accompanying the president for a photo opportunity at Lafayette Square near the White House in 2020 during racial justice unrest in the nation’s Capitol.

Later, in the final days of Trump’s first term, Milley reportedly — without Trump’s knowledge — reassured Chinese officials there would be no threat to China amid fears of instability within the White House. The incident infuriated Trump to the point that he posted on Truth Social that Milley was “treasonous,” suggesting he be executed.

Since then, Trump has often vowed to take revenge against his enemies, naming Milley often as one such foe.

But Trump might be hard-pressed to stick Milley with any criminal charges, as the retired general was given a preemptive pardon issued by former President Biden on Jan. 20, his last day in office.

Milley — who in public and private has reportedly called Trump unintelligent and a “fascist to the core” — had been assigned personal security details since 2020, when Iran vowed revenge for the Trump-ordered drone strike killing of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani.

The removal of Milley’s security detail follows Trump’s decision last week to also end protective security details for his former national security adviser John Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his onetime deputy Brian Hook.