- cross-posted to:
- politics@beehaw.org
- cross-posted to:
- politics@beehaw.org
Summary
Elon Musk vowed to cancel government grants after allegedly gaining access to the US Treasury’s payments system, triggering the abrupt resignation of a senior official.
Musk, who leads Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), claimed his team found Treasury officials approving payments without scrutiny.
Democrats, including Sen. Ron Wyden, raised alarms over Musk’s influence on federal funds. Treasury access concerns intensified after Trump ally Michael Flynn posted grant payments online.
Musk’s authority to halt payments remains unclear, and the Treasury has not responded to inquiries.
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It’s time for Elon to go
Democrats, including Sen. Ron Wyden, raised alarms over Musk’s influence on federal funds. Treasury access concerns intensified after Trump ally Michael Flynn posted grant payments online.
That’s funny, the only thing I get when I search for “Michael Flynn grant payments” are about payments Flynn received from the Russian government
Who the fuck even is this guy? No vetting process, no confirmation hearings, nothing.
And he’s just given this kind of power?
This country is so very, very fucked. Thanks to donvict’s base and a huge assist from the apathetic and the “bothsides” idiots.
Most Americans are sleepwalking. As much as they’re going to hurt other countries they’re going to hurt Americans the most.
I think as long as Americans have something to lose, they will not revolt 😞🤙
Well, so there’s some justice
I thought we were agreed: Any Musk photo in news from now on is his Nazi salute.
Hitler didn’t mean to do that. He was just excited and he had self-diagnosed autism.
Wait, who are we talking about again?
We need to accommodate the wealthy man’s self diagnosed autism when it manifests in fascist hate symbols, but we need to pull all resources from professionally diagnosed autistic adults on disability.
I’d be fine if he had the Hitler mustache as well
He’s not an employee of the Federal Government. This is completely illegal. And he’s a psychopathic junkie so…
“Illegal” no longer means anything for the top people in the Trump administration. Including the ones who are not official employees.
Why isn’t he arrested
Which brownshirt do you want to arrest him? The ones in Congress? The ones in the SC? The gestapo?
He IS the gestapo!
What did you think they meant by “Department of Government Efficiency”?
Hey now, just because they sent a message to everyone in the government to report on any suspicious DEI looking stuff… oh wait…
Money
That’s what I’m wondering!
Mush is a terrorist.
There have been two court orders requiring that payments continue normally. It looks like Musk has decided that court orders do not bind him. It hasn’t even been two weeks and already we’re at the constitutional crisis?
It’s only a constitutional crisis if anyone will pursue it.
If court orders don’t apply and higher institutions do nothing, well, there is no crisis.
Exactly. And SCOTUS is on Trump’s side, so they will approve.
We’re setting up the “Mr Burns’ diseases” system. We’ll just have every constitutional crisis in existence all at once, and they’ll balance each other out! 🤦♀️
When you’re the wealthiest man in America the laws don’t apply to you.
The system in its infinite wisdom prevents poor and rich alike from begging on the streets…
Can we please send this fuckwit back to where he comes from? Like, the seventh circle of Hell?
The 8th circle might be a better fit, especially in the 8th Bolgia for councellors of fraud.
We don’t want him. I propose shooting him out of a cannon into the sun
Stick him in a Cybertruck and launch that into the sun.
Hell, just roll the thing into a lake.
That was my first thought.
Too energy intensive. Just launch him into a Sun orbit so he can join his roadster.
Honesty, it would be a lot cheaper to just send him out on a billionaire submarine
Cement shoes is cheaper than that
Deport fElon.
He needs a new goal: Occupy the Sun
We would need power to do that. How do we get power? Don’t expect anyone else to do it for you.
Democrats “raised alarms”? Gee thanks, that’ll take care of it you pathetic wimps. Why haven’t they brought an immediate case to the Supreme Court for an emergency ruling? A non-elected, non-nominated or confirmed by Senate (and we should of course note) immigrant has been given access to the United States Treasury. This is insane.
RIGHT!? The treasury and HR! Why are Senators not screaming until they’re hoarse!? If this isn’t the worst Executive overreach in the history of this country I don’t know what is!
It’s pretty clear that the majority of politicians on the right and left support this. It’s always been about the rich and powerful.
Gee, there is no way Musk would abuse that power…
Like canceling grant payments to rival EV manufacturers
It would be ironic if this is what ends up with him facing some consequences. It’ll be interesting how long the house allows him to usurp their authority.
So if he’s acting as a government official doesn’t he need to be confirmed by Congress?
LOL, but we have Worthington’s Law here in 'merica. It overrides any of that pesky Constitutional and/or democratic norms stuff…
you would think so… but then again he could just be an independent contractor or some such legaly distinct thing.
That’s not how it works at that level.
So the country is now a dogecracy or is it still aan oligarchy? Does this count as a coup?
I keep saying kleptocracy and yes.
It’s a coup
deleted by creator
The world’s richest man, who bankrolled Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and was tasked by the president with running the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, boasted on his social media site X that he was “rapidly shutting down . . . illegal payments” after a list of grants to Lutheran organisations was posted online.
The threat came after Musk appeared to confirm on Saturday that DOGE had access to the Treasury system, which disperses trillions of dollars each year, including social security payments.
He justified the move by claiming his team discovered “that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups”.
The system has been run by career civil servants and the Treasury already has an in-house team tasked with identifying fraudulent payments. A source with knowledge of the situation said that DOGE representatives did not have the authority to cut payments, only to read the data.
Senator Ron Wyden, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said his office had been told that Treasury secretary Scott Bessent had granted DOGE “full” access to the system.
Lutherans!! Well, I’m glad Elmo Nazi shut that shit down! Who knows how long those shady Lutherans were growing fat off the Treasury’s ample, juicy teats!
Srs tho, omfg the batshit is everywhere.
DOGE representatives did not have the authority to cut payments, only to read the data.
They shouldn’t even have that!
I’m not sure we should be giving government grants to any religious organizations, but why on earth would you target Lutherans of all groups?
Tim Walz, Democratic VP is a Lutheran, bigly involved in the church. This is payback for daring challenge their demented rapist puppet.
Grants were for immigrant assistance.
Oh.
I don’t understand. What’s apparently so heinous about Lutheran charities?
They’re inclusive of queer people and allow them to be pastors. They embrace immigrants. I’m an atheist but they seem ok, so yeah they’re a target.
Ninety-five Theses are too many. He wants DOGE to streamline it to four and take out that pesky objection to indulgences.
