The BDN Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom, and does not set policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com.
Is it a coup? That’s not a question we ever thought would be asked about government action in the United States.
But, here we are with Elon Musk, a foreign-born billionaire installed by President Donald Trump with no vetting from Congress as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a government entity in name only, taking over federal agencies and shutting others down.
“The ongoing actions by Musk and his followers are a coup because the individuals seizing power have no right to it,” Timothy Snyder, a professor of history and global affairs at Yale University, wrote on his blog this week. “Elon Musk was elected to no office and there is no office that would give him the authority to do what he is doing. It is all illegal.”
A first target was the U.S. Agency for International Development. On Monday, yellow police tape blocked access to the lobby and hundreds of employees were locked out of computer systems, which was taken over by Musk minions over the weekend. Musk says President Donald Trump allowed him to shutter the agency.
On Wednesday, representatives of DOGE barged their way into the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Commerce and their computer systems.
Over the weekend, Musk and a small gaggle of his tech minions gained access to the country’s largest payment system, which handles Social Security, Medicare and tax payments. There are fears that personal data and records at the Treasury Department may now be in the hands of a group of young guys whose identities Musk has tried, unsuccessfully, to hide.
After a lawsuit was filed to stop this data privacy invasion, the Treasury Department agreed Thursday to not directly share this data with Musk’s group. Members of the group will still have “read only” access to this data.
If this is not an actual coup, it is a worrisome hack — enabled by the president.
What were they planning to do with this information? Is Musk trying to get information on his competitors so he can put them out of business?
Are they, as they claim, zeroing out funding for groups programs they don’t like or that they deem inefficient or unnecessary? If so, what are the criteria for funding cuts or elimination? Certainly, much government funding needs to be reviewed, and some of it eliminated. But, these decisions shouldn’t be made unilaterally by a group of twenty-somethings.
Are they putting together a database on “enemies”? How are these enemies defined and identified? What do they plan to do to these people?
Who will stop them? Trump has hallowed out law enforcement agencies like the FBI and Department of Justice, purging long-time staff, including those involved in the prosecutions of Trump.
We don’t know the answers to these and many other questions. And, that is a huge, terrifying problem.
Some members of Congress, including 1st District Rep. Chellie Pingree and Sen. Angus King, are raising alarms. That’s an important first step. But now they need to take actual steps to stop this madness, even if their power is limited.
The stopping and cutting of federal funding, programs and departments is especially an affront to Congress’ appropriations committees, which are tasked with approving all discretionary federal spending. Sen. Susan Collins, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said this week that she is “very concerned” about Musk’s moves. She is meeting with a bipartisan group of senators who share a sense of concern to discuss moves forward, including potential legislation and communications with the administration.
“While it is not unusual for incoming administrations to review and propose reforms to federal programs and policies, in doing so, they must follow the law. That includes abiding by congressional notification and consultation requirements related to the use of federal funds and laws, as well as regulations that pertain to the access of information, including the private personal information of federal employees,” Collins said in a statement to the Bangor Daily News editorial board.
“I share the administration’s goal of weeding out waste, fraud, and abuse in our federal budget, but have stressed the importance of following the law,” she added. “I am continuing to directly communicate these views to administration officials and am exploring possible steps forward with a bipartisan group of senators.”
On Thursday, Collins also sent a letter to new Attorney General Pam Bondi asking her to review the recent firings of FBI officials and other actions against the agency’s staff.
Sen. Angus King and seven Democratic colleagues sent a letter to the White House chief of staff raising national security concerns about the actions of Musk’s team. He also joined 36 colleagues in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio strongly objecting to efforts to abolish USAID.
Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee this week put forward a motion to subpoena Musk to quickly appear before the panel. Republicans on the committee voted down the motion by tabling it.
Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii has pledged to place a hold on all Trump State Department nominees until the president backs off shuttering USAID. This is the kind of move we typically oppose. But at a time when the lawless actions of Trump’s deputies must be slowed so Congress and Americans can find out what is really going on, it is a reasonable effort that should be expanded to other nominees.
Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin has introduced a bill that would bar “special government employees,” which is what Trump has dubbed Musk, from getting government contracts. Musk’s companies have secured more than $20 billion in government contracts.
Republicans, who hold slim majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, are unlikely to allow such efforts to move forward, but with many congressional offices flooded with calls from constituents concerned about Musk’s moves, pressure is building for action to stop him.
While Congress figures out what to do, numerous lawsuits have already been filed to protect the rights of federal employees and the privacy of Americans. So far, these suits and the court orders they’ve prompted have been the most effective at slowing down Trump and Musk’s malicious actions.
Less than two weeks in office, the Trump administration has set a new precedent for making dangerous, unlawful, and unilateral decisions involving the safety and security of the American people, while usurping the authority of Congress.
There’s no doubt that other norms and rights will be violated in the next four years if lawmakers don’t step up now to stop these unlawful actions.
