by Nick Hammond ‘25 

As Elon Musk’s power over the American people reaches an all-time high, it becomes more evident by the day how immature, unfit, and corruptible he is in a governmental role. As the world’s richest man, he has long held indirect control over people, but his current proximity to the U.S. President and influence in uprooting thousands of people’s lives sets a terrible precedent.

Since January, Musk has been at the forefront of Trump’s newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). While the administration has sent conflicting messages regarding how much authority the multi-CEO has over DOGE, Trump has also constantly described him as “in charge” of the agency. As its de-facto leader, Musk has destructively fired tens of thousands of federal workers and shut down U.S. agencies. While a variety of unprecedented means, such as a universal resignation offer and a return-to-office mandate, have been used to push government employees to quit, DOGE further has directed mass direct termination of workers. Musk’s team has sent out condescending emails to all federal agencies, asking, “What did you do last week?”, implying that less productive or non-responsive employees would be fired. DOGE has also cut most employees and contracts at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and soon seeks to close it entirely. USAID took up only 0.3 percent of 2024 federal spending, with its initiatives helping millions in need, providing medicine and health supplies to the world’s poorest. Musk, however, has continued to justify his actions with Trump’s blessings.

Not only have these measures thrown many careers and lives into turmoil, but the chaotic and irresponsible manner in which it was done has ironically led to more inefficiency. Two federal judges ruled that these mass layoffs were illegal, as there were no actual individualized or performance-based reasons for their termination – and thus the Trump administration is now reinstating nearly 25,000 employees. The Executive Branch’s ignorant actions have cost them more time and resources to partially go right back where they started, and these reinstated workers have also been placed on paid administrative leave. Employees are not yet allowed to work again but are still receiving paychecks, leaving them in limbo and still fearing another round of layoffs.

Musk’s positions on Trump’s shoulder and within DOGE should also be questioned for his stark conflicts of interest. With contributions totaling nearly $300 million, he was the President’s largest donor during this past election cycle, drawing concerns of corruption. He also heads SpaceX, Tesla, X (Twitter), and Neuralink – all of which benefit from the government spending he is tasked to cut. According to federal contracting data, his business deals with the U.S. total nearly $20 billion over the past 16 years, and America has especially become reliant on SpaceX in recent years with its scientific endeavors. Further, many of the Executive agencies which he criticizes publicly and through DOGE have taken regulatory or investigative measures against these companies, including the alleged illegal firing of workers (sound familiar?). While Trump has stated Musk “won’t be involved” in decisions regarding his businesses, there are truly no formal rules or restrictions restraining him.

Outside of his department’s reckless actions, Musk demonstrates how immoral, immature, and incompetent he is for a job in the White House through his public and personal behavior. For instance, on his own online platform, X (formally Twitter), Musk tweets dozens of times a day, often insulting others he disagrees with and pushing hateful political or social accusations backed with no evidence. But the most concerning part of all is how much time he devotes to the doomscroll. With this amount of activity, he seems to spend hours on the platform in a single day. He is also the father of 13 children with four different women. While simultaneously claiming that he is working 24/7 on DOGE and running several huge companies, he cannot possibly have enough time to make coherent decisions.

It’s obvious that Trump doesn’t care that Musk is manifestly unfit for this position. Firing current employees and dismantling fundamental systems enable him to employ thousands of political loyalists and those who won’t check presidential power. DOGE’s authority and access to information in the federal government remains mostly undefined and unrestricted, and we must fight back to protect the integrity of our country and the lives of our people.