(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: President Musk does unpopular things while Trump tries to not see [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-02-01
Greg Sargent/The New Republic:
Trump and Elon Musk Just Pulled Off Another Purge—and It’s a Scary One
Did Musk’s alleged effort to access the government’s payment systems have Trump’s blessing? Or was he going rogue? Either scenario is bad, but one’s a little worse. Musk, goes this story, will employ his fearsome tech wizardry to root them out, restoring not just efficiency to government but also the democratic accountability that “deep state” denizens have snuffed out—supposedly a major cause of many of our social ills. The startling news that a top Treasury Department official is departing after a dispute with Musk shows how deeply wrong that story truly is—and why it’s actively dangerous. The Washington Post reports that David Lebryk, who has carried out senior nonpolitical roles at the department for decades, is leaving after officials on Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, sought access to Treasury’s payment system: Lebryk had a dispute with Musk’s surrogates over access to the payment system the U.S. government uses to disburse trillions of dollars every year, the people said. The exact nature of the disagreement was not immediately clear, they said.
Washington Post:
Senior U.S. official exits after rift with Musk allies over payment system A top Treasury career staffer, David A. Lebryk, announced his retirement. Surrogates of Musk’s DOGE effort had sought access to sensitive payment systems. David A. Lebryk, who served in nonpolitical roles at Treasury for several decades, announced his retirement Friday in an email to colleagues that was obtained by The Washington Post. President Donald Trump named Lebryk acting secretary upon taking office last week. Lebryk had a dispute with Musk’s surrogates over access to the payment system the U.S. government uses to disburse trillions of dollars every year, the people said. The exact nature of the disagreement was not immediately clear, they said. Officials affiliated with Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” have been asking since after the election for access to the system, the people said — requests that were reiterated more recently, including after Trump’s inauguration. Tom Krause, a Silicon Valley executive who has now been detailed to Treasury, is among those involved, the people said. Krause did not respond to requests for comment.
Seth Masket/Tusk:
Friday Night Musk-acre
Friday saw some very serious attacks on democracy and the rule of law Musk’s Maneuver It’s hard to know just how destructive this will be in the long run, but for now, this is arguably the most troubling development in a day of extremely troubling developments. Elon Musk appears to be trying to do to the federal government what he did at Twitter/X: massively disrupt its functioning and drive out experienced employees not on board with his transformations and his personality cult. After a week of trying to push civil servants out of jobs all over the federal government, Musk set his sights Friday on the U.S. Treasury’s payment systems. As the Washington Post explains: Run by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, the sensitive systems control the flow of more than $6 trillion annually to households, businesses and more nationwide. Tens, if not hundreds, of millions of people across the country rely on the systems, which are responsible for distributing Social Security and Medicare benefits, salaries for federal personnel, payments to government contractors and grant recipients, and tax refunds, among tens of thousands of other functions.
x Even before Trump’s presidency, global oil supply was set to outpace demand in 2025, leaving little incentive for firms to increase production.
Trump’s drilling plans are a solution in search of a problem. pic.twitter.com/xR5Imw96lM — Steven Rattner (@SteveRattner) January 31, 2025
New York Times:
Justice Dept. Fires Jan. 6 Prosecutors Amid Campaign of Retribution by Trump The Justice Department’s campaign of retribution against officials who investigated President Trump and his supporters accelerated late Friday with the firing of more than a dozen federal prosecutors at the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, according to a department memo. The Trump administration also plans to examine scores of F.B.I. agents involved in investigations tied to the president and his supporters, setting up a potential purge of the bureau, according to people familiar with the matter.
x Remember how Trump said he "sent the military in and opened up the water flow" in CA? It appears he forced the Army Corps to just drain reservoirs into recently flooded farmland without telling local farmers or leaders. “In 25 years, I’ve never seen anything like this. I was… — Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) January 31, 2025
CNN:
Trump said he hadn’t read Project 2025 – but most of his early executive actions overlap with its proposals Many of Trump’s early actions appear closely aligned with Project 2025’s plans. A CNN analysis of the 53 executive orders and actions from Trump’s first week in office found that more than two-thirds – 36 – evoke proposals outlined in “Mandate for Leadership,” Project 2025’s 922-page blueprint for the next Republican president. The overlap includes early steps taken by Trump to execute some of his most-touted pledges: cracking down on illegal immigration; dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; and rolling back environmental restrictions on oil and gas exploration.
x I am the author of this OpEd, which was given a misleading title and from which key lines were cut—lines that made very clear that RFK Jr is dangerously ignorant, has absolutely no business near HHS, and is effectively a mass murderer in waiting.
https://t.co/3OyWQN3JkX — Eric Reinhart (@_Eric_Reinhart) January 31, 2025
Washington Post:
RFK Jr. confirmation could hinge on his embrace of false vaccine-autism link Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told senators he would apologize if data shows vaccines don’t cause autism, but he cited a poorly conducted study to counter the dozens that show they do not. The debunked connection has emerged as a critical point of contention as Kennedy’s longtime anti-vaccine advocacy complicates his path to becoming secretary of the mammoth Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy can afford to lose only three Republican votes, and Democrats remain united. Two Republicans viewed as pivotal swing votes — Sen. Bill Cassidy (Louisiana) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) — have raised concerns about his autism claims.
x Premise of yesterday’s protests at yesterday’s DNC forum was that the party needs to reject “corporate” money and super PACs to be credible. But a few hours earlier we saw Kennedy, who benefited from a super PAC in 2024, lecture Sanders, who never had one, over taking small,… — David Weigel (@daveweigel) January 31, 2025
Cliff Schecter with a fascinating interview on “Leaving MAGA”:
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/1/2300533/-Abbreviated-Pundit-Roundup-President-Musk-does-unpopular-things-while-Trump-tries-to-not-see?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
