How many people spent this week worrying about their health care, child care or their next meal because a billionaire tried running the government like he runs his companies?
Washington, DC — On Wednesday, the White House Office of Management and Budget rescinded a memo from Monday ordering a pause on federal funding. The rescission follows widespread chaos at federal agencies, state governments and nonprofits nationwide that froze funding for critical services like Medicaid, Head Start and Meals on Wheels. On Tuesday, the White House also sent an email purporting to offer buyouts to federal workers that closely mirrors what Elon Musk sent to Twitter employees shortly after his takeover of that social media platform. Reporting from Wired also revealed that people connected to Musk’s companies, including a 21-year-old and someone who graduated from high school in 2024, have been installed at the highest ranks of the Office of Personnel Management.
Instead of making the government more efficient, Musk’s corporate playbook is creating chaos, corruption and waste. Demand Progress Education Fund recently helped launch No Corporate Cabinet, an online resource documenting corporate conflicts of interest in the executive branch.
The following is a statement from Demand Progress Education Fund Communications Director Eric Naing:
“The chaos, confusion and pain we are seeing nationwide is what happens when you hand the reins of government over to a corporate billionaire. When Elon Musk bought Twitter, he turned it into a cesspool that hemorrhaged advertisers and users. Now the same corporate playbook is causing widespread pandemonium in the federal government.
Musk promised to use his corporate expertise to make the government more efficient. In practice, this has meant installing cronies fresh out of high school at critical government agencies, sending hamfisted threats to civil servants and making embarrassing mistakes that are already stopping critical services from reaching millions of Americans. How many people spent this week worrying about their health care, child care or their next meal because a billionaire tried running the government like he runs his companies?
Musk is just the tip of the iceberg, however. As we speak, corporate CEOs, lobbyists and donors are being installed at virtually every government agency and, like Musk, they plan on corrupting the government to enrich themselves at the expense of everyday Americans.”