For any who may not have been paying attention to what’s been happening in our national government the past few weeks, here’s the bad news: We’re watching a coup enfold before our eyes—a takeover of the entire U.S. government enabled by the new President, Donald Trump.
Trump has allowed Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, a Trump megadonor, and a person whom no one has elected, to root around in government departments and programs, illegally firing many government workers and illegally destroying whole departments.
The key word there is “illegally.” Numerous groups and individuals have now filed lawsuits to stop, or at least pause, Musk’s actions, including top FBI agents fired by Trump simply because they had worked on various federal court cases involving Trump (Sean O’Driscoll, “FBI Agents’ Lawsuit Against Trump ‘Harbinger of Legal Battles: Attorney,” Newsweek, February 6, 2025).
First, there is no such thing as a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE, as Trump and Musk call the non-existent entity that is simply the made-up title that Trump bestowed on his rich buddy). Only the U.S. Congress can create departments of the government, and they have not created a DOGE.
But Trump and Musk apparently don’t care at all about what is legal or permissible.
Trump is allowing Musk to do whatever he wants, because he apparently is afraid of Musk. The multi-billionaire has all that money, you see.
In fact, it’s fair to say that Trump likely wouldn’t be President now if not for the vast amount of money that Musk dumped into Trump’s campaign (Julia Ingram and Steve Reilly, “Elon Musk spends $277 millions to back Trump and Republican candidates,” CBS News, December 6, 2024).
Since Trump became President on January 20 of this year, he has tried numerous actions that federal courts have stopped or at least paused for now. For example, he tried to get rid of birthright citizenship, the part of the U.S. Constitution that declares that anyone born on American soil (“and subject to the laws thereof,” which would exclude children of diplomats from other countries) is automatically a U.S. citizen. Federal judges have made short work of Trump’s claim that children of undocumented immigrants shouldn’t be citizens, pointing out that the language of the Fourteenth Amendment is clear: people born here are citizens. Period.
One of the most frightening aspects of Musk’s intrusion into our government is what he’s doing at the Treasury Dept. Trump has decreed that Musk should have access to Treasury’s payment system, the super-private portion that only a few people within the department itself are allowed to see. This is where payments from the Treasury are made, including our Social Security and Medicare checks among many other types of disbursements.
Apparently high on Musk’s list of targets was stopping payments for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is this country’s soft-power way of helping people in other countries, both feeding starving people and addressing their medical needs. (George W. Bush’s very successful PEPFAR program of combatting the spread of HIV, for example, is administered under USAID.)
Musk has had a bunch of young college-age computer whizzes (which former Labor Secretary Robert Reich has dubbed “Muskrats”) rooting through people’s private files within Treasury (all highly illegal, of course). For now, a federal judge has restricted their invasion of our Treasury Dept. to “read only” (meaning that the invaders can’t copy files, but can only read them).
However, it took a while to get that judicial opinion, and who knows what those youngsters had already copied by then?
But even though most of the many court cases filed against Trump will likely go against him, the problem with fighting Musk and Trump in court is that legal cases usually move slowly. Trump’s strategy with most court actions he has been involved in over the years (many, many of them) is to use the legal process to delay judgment. Even if he loses a case, he sometimes wins, because the very fact that so much time passes can prevent the triumph of real justice.
Republicans also control both houses of Congress right now. Though they have slim majorities in both the Senate and House, even a tiny margin allows the majority party to set the agenda and to pass many bills Trump wants to see pass.
And the Republicans in Congress simply roll over for Trump. They could be a real check on him if they had any spine. But clearly they don’t!
Here is the better news: It’s down to you and me, fellow voters. Fortunately, citizens are coming out to oppose Musk and Trump. Protests, sizeable ones, have occurred and are planned in all 50 states. Among the groups that are organizing protest events are Indivisible, Move-On.org, and Public Citizen. But these are hardly the only ones (“Public Citizen, NWIC, more than 110 organizations call for investigation of Elon Musk’s lawless government takeover,” www.citizen.org/ news/public-citizen-nwicmore- than-110-organizationscall- for-investigation-of-elonmusks- lawless-governmenttakeover).
Participating in a protest action can be a great way to get one’s voice heard, and to meet like-minded people as well.
Individuals can also phone the White House and senators and representatives in Congress. Even Republican Congresspersons, if they get enough calls, may be moved to express their concern over Musk’s doings to Trump. Phone numbers for Senator James Lankford are 405-2314941 [OKC] or 202-224-5754 [DC]. For Senator Markwayne Mullins, numbers are 405246-0025 [OKC] or 202-224-4721 [DC]). The Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121. Rep. Josh Brecheen’s numbers are 918-283-6262 (Tulsa), and 202-225-2701 (DC).
I called the White House last Friday several times and couldn’t get through to the main number (202-456-1111). I kept getting a recording that said the number wouldn’t be open until 11 o’clock EST that morning. Since it was well after what would be 11 o’clock there when I was calling, I found it frustrating. Then I tried the alternate number (202-456-1414) and this time got a live person. I told her I was calling from Oklahoma and gave her an earful about my anger over Musk’s illegal behavior. She replied that she was just an operator and couldn’t pass on a message, but said I should call the 1111 main number. I told her my disappointing experience there, and she said that main number is only open on Tuesday, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
That’s information that should be given out whenever someone calls the 1111 number, and it’s not. This omission suggests that the White House doesn’t really want to hear from citizens.
But whether that’s intentional or not, the point is clear: We need to be persistent, and insistent. This is not the time to err on the side of politeness.
There’s nothing polite about the way Elon Musk (with the acquiescence of Donald Trump) is destroying the U.S. government before our very eyes. Don’t delay about raising your voice. This coup is moving fast.