How Elon Musk is transforming American government

Elon Musk isn't just President Donald Trump's biggest financial backer and sidekick in the new administration. He is now putting his stamp on Trump's efforts to completely upend American government.

The world's richest man is "sweeping through Washington — and answering to nobody," said Zeeshan Aleem at MSNBC. Three recent developments reveal the breadth and depth of his power: Musk was reportedly behind a recent "buyout" email offer to millions of federal workers. On Monday, he announced the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which disburses American foreign aid around the world. And his team at the Department of Government Efficiency has been given access to the Treasury Department's payment system, potentially allowing him to squash funding for congressionally-approved programs that Trump doesn't like. The challenge is that Musk is a novice with "no experience with or demonstrable understanding of the government of the most powerful country in the world," said Aleem.

'Never seen anything like this'

Musk is moving with "lightning speed to exert control over the government," said The Wall Street Journal. His moves are part of an effort to "upend the federal government agency by agency." His means of doing so are unorthodox and murky, as his operation is "run by individuals with ties to the tech sector who haven't been confirmed by the Senate" and who might have financial conflicts of interest in gutting government agencies. Musk's efforts have stunned longtime veterans of government. "I've never seen anything like this before," said Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer, to the Journal.

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His efforts may cross legal lines. Musk's announcement of a USAID shutdown defies the "constitutional power of Congress to determine how money is spent," said NBC News. That's because the agency was created by an act of Congress, which also approved its roughly $40 billion budget. Federal law says the executive branch "generally cannot withhold funds" that Congress has approved. Because of that, it's unclear how Musk — or the White House — can take such unilateral action. The billionaire "did not say what legal authority" lets him or the White House do so, said NBC News.

Attacking 'massive unelected bureaucracy'

Americans "don't know the full extent of what Elon Musk is doing" as he entrenches himself in government operations, said Zachary B. Wolf at CNN. Musk said on X that he is moving to liberate Americans from the "massive unelected bureaucracy!" But Wolf said it's unclear what authority Musk, also unelected, has to make such sweeping changes. "Has he taken an oath, like the federal workers he apparently has plans to fire, to uphold the Constitution?"

Musk may be powerful, but he's not popular. One recent poll shows his "image deteriorating in recent months," said The Washington Post. Just 36% of Americans have a favorable opinion of him, down from 41% a month previously. American voters apparently "don't love the idea of the world's richest man throwing his weight around." Musk has the support of the one American who matters, though. "I think Elon is doing a good job," said Trump on Sunday night.