Elon Musk's government-by-tantrum has caused no end of confusion and chaos in the opening weeks of Donald Trump's second term.
Earlier this week, the billionaire's newly created Department of Government Efficiency seemingly seized control of the Treasury Department's payment system. The money-distributing wing of the country's finance department is responsible for distributing around $6 trillion on behalf of the federal government annually.
Taking to his social media platform X, Musk bashed Treasury Department officials for doing their jobs and issuing payments.
"The @DOGE team discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups," Musk wrote. "They literally never denied a payment in their entire career. Not even once."
David Lebryk, who had worked at the Treasury for more than 30 years and briefly served as the acting head of the department, resigned earlier this week over Musk's access to the department.
Elsewhere in the federal government, Musk is flexing the muscle of his brand-new agency with a broad mandate. Two senior officials with the U.S. Agency for International Development were placed on leave after they refused to turn over classified documents to Musk's agency. The Cold War-era cudgel aimed at winning over the hearts and minds of the developing world stonewalled Musk's auditors when they requested documents they did not have clearance to view. The two officials, John Vorhees and Brian McGill, were required by law to turn the request down but still found themselves disciplined.
On social media, Musk called USAID a "criminal organization," adding that it was "time for it to die."
Over in the legislative branch, Musk is using his megaphone to place pressure on lawmakers. He called Republican Senator Todd Young a "deep state puppet" in a since-deleted post to X after the Indiana congressman scrutinized Trump's pick for Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.
