Front Burner

Elon Musk's assault on government

Elon Musk now has access to the $6-trillion U.S. federal payment system, and has other government departments in his crosshairs. Is the richest man in the world launching a soft takeover of the U.S. government?
A man in a blue suit and tie with a red baseball cap stands beside a man in a leather jacket with his hands in motion
FILE - President-elect Donald Trump listens to Elon Musk as he arrives to watch SpaceX's mega rocket Starship lift off for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Nov. 19, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP, File) (Brandon Bell/The Associated Press)

Elon Musk, head of the so-called 'Department of Government Efficiency' has gained access to the U.S. government's federal payment system —  the system responsible for the flow of over $6-trillion in payments to American families and businesses each year. 

This is a level of access into government apparatus that is unprecedented for a private citizen. Musk has used this power to declare war on, and interfere with, state agencies and organizations across the federal government. This includes USAID, the Department of Education, the Office of Personnel Management, and the General Services Administration, among others. 

What are the implications of giving the richest man in the world — unelected by the public, unappointed by the President and the Senate, and unanswerable to Congress  — this kind of authority and access to government? 

Waleed Shaheed is a democratic strategist and former senior advisor and staffer for the likes of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, and he joins the show to discuss Musk's power grab, and whether it can be fairly characterized as a 'coup.'

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

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