(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
“Autogolpe:” The Path to American Dictatorship [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-02-04
There is no one word to fully describe what Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing to America, but the term that comes closest is autogolpe, Spanish for “self-coup.” While rare, it happens when a seated President seizes complete power. In this case, it is not just a former President seeking to reassert dominance but also the world’s wealthiest man leveraging his resources and influence to reshape the federal government. Unlike traditional self-coups that rely on the military seizing control of government offices, this one is unfolding through a systematic purge of institutional norms and checks and balances.
Trump’s first major move in this self-coup was the mass pardoning of approximately 1,500 individuals convicted or indicted for their roles in the January 6th insurrection. This was a direct affront to the rule of law, undermining accountability for those who sought to overthrow the democratic process. It sent a clear message that Trump considers the legal consequences of the insurrection null and void—a warning sign that the judiciary and law enforcement will serve Trump’s authoritarian ambitions rather than the Constitution.
In his war on immigrants, Trump ordered the end of Birthright citizenship, a constitutional guarantee, ended U.S. Refugee programs, a congressional responsibility, and has eliminated constitutional protections for immigrants in his mass deportation project by using warrantless searches and eliminating due process through expedited removal.
Further escalating his power grab, Trump has initiated a purge of personnel across federal agencies, particularly those working on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The affected employees, initially placed on administrative leave, now face termination. The scale of this purge remains uncertain, but in the Department of Education alone, approximately 50 employees who had previously undergone DEI training under former Secretary Betsy DeVos have been sidelined. This suggests a much broader effort to dismantle institutional reforms and remove personnel deemed ideologically opposed to Trump’s agenda.
On January 27, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo freezing payments related to foreign aid and the funding of 10,000 to 12,000 U.S.-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) engaged in federally funded projects. This decision, which affected 19 federal agencies, provoked immediate backlash and legal challenges, forcing the administration to rescind the directive. However, this retreat may be temporary, as pressure from Trump-aligned Republicans in Congress could still lead to drastic funding cuts.
The Department of Justice has also fallen under Trump’s control, as evidenced by the abrupt dismissal of 24 employees at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., on January 31, 2025. These individuals had all been involved in prosecuting January 6th cases. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, a Trump appointee, justified the terminations by claiming he would not “tolerate subversive personnel actions by the previous administration.”
Bove’s purge extended beyond the DOJ. He demanded the resignation of eight top FBI officials overseeing counterterrorism, national security, and cybersecurity operations. Additionally, he fired the heads of FBI field offices in six major cities. Even more concerning, he demanded a list of every FBI agent and DOJ prosecutor who worked on January 6th cases, a roster that could encompass more than 6,000 individuals. This list could serve as the basis for an unprecedented purge of law enforcement officials who followed the rule of law and upheld constitutional accountability.
Trump and Musk have shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), thus ending much of America’s soft power. While Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly supported the move, the agency’s official leadership structure has become a mystery. Rubio himself has assumed the title of head of USAID, though the agency no longer functions.
Elon Musk’s influence in this self-coup cannot be overstated. His takeover of key governmental infrastructure is as alarming as it is opaque. The January 20, 2025, Executive Order that established DOGE placed it in the White House and narrowed its focus to “modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity”—a perfect Trojan horse.
Musk has seized control of the Treasury Department’s payment system, the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) digital infrastructure, and the digital systems at the General Services Administration (GSA), which handles federal real estate and technology. This consolidation of power gives Musk unprecedented control over federal payroll, budgeting, financial transactions, and more. Not only did Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent grant a handful of people associated with Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency full access to the federal payment system, but they were also made federal employees. Ironically, Musk opposed Bessant as Treasury secretary. With Musk exerting de facto authority over the Treasury, OPM, and GSA, he holds extraordinary leverage over the federal workforce and financial operations.
Now, the White House is writing an Executive Order to eliminate the Department of Education.
The above are the most visible actions in Trump’s self-coup, but many other actions are being executed by Trump’s Project 2025 allies, who are dismantling institutional safeguards like checks and balances to pave the way for Trump’s unchecked power, which is the stepping stone to becoming a dictator.
The events unfolding under Trump’s second administration reveal a carefully orchestrated self-coup aimed at dismantling democratic governance and concentrating power within a small, loyalist circle. The lack of resistance from Republican leaders, such as the Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader, only accelerates this erosion of democracy. Even if Trump ultimately fails to secure absolute power, the damage inflicted upon governmental institutions will take years—if not decades—to repair.
The most chilling aspect of this autogolpe is not just what has already happened, but what may come next. With federal agencies gutted, judicial independence under siege, and governmental oversight weakened, the door is wide open for a full-scale authoritarian takeover. This is no longer a speculative fear but an unfolding reality. The coming months will determine whether the U.S. remains a democracy or slides further into a regime where personal loyalty replaces the rule of law and constitutional principles. The time to resist is now before Trump erases the last vestiges of democratic governance.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/4/2301344/-Autogolpe-The-Path-to-American-Dictatorship?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&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/
