The head of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency is closing in on his latest victim — an independent government agency set up to shield Americans from the Wall Street excesses that caused the Great Recession.
Employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were abruptly told Sunday afternoon that the watchdog’s Washington, DC, headquarters will be closed this week and they should work remotely, a day after Trump’s budget chief, Russell Vought, took over as acting director and told staff to stop fighting financial abuse.
“CFPB RIP,” Musk wrote on X on Friday.
The agency, which has long been in GOP sights, seems to be following a similar path to doom as the US Agency for International Development, which has saved millions of lives around the world and promoted democracy for decades, but that Musk has eviscerated. On Sunday, Trump called USAID “crazy” and “a big scam.”
Trump’s untrimmed use of executive power to throttle agencies enshrined in the law, dismiss staff and halt spending already approved by Congress is raising alarms that he’s openly defying the Constitution, seizing power that the presidency does not have.
But the role of Musk, with his unelected power, is unprecedented. The richest man in the world is firing or suspending government workers, destroying US soft global power, and accessing data and private information about potentially millions of Americans — all with zero accountability.
Multiple courts have now stepped in to temporarily halt Trump and Musk’s plans. But everything is trending toward one of the most significant showdowns over the scope of presidential power in modern history, which is destined for a Supreme Court whose conservative majority has an expansive view of executive authority.
Plenty of people have predicted that Musk and Trump are headed for a breakup given their volatile personalities and need to be the alpha dog in every room. But Trump is showing no public sign of tiring of the Tesla pioneer, who is acting as the lead agent in the president’s revenge and disruption agenda. The president even shrugged off a Time Magazine cover that showed Musk behind the Oval Office desk.
“I’ve had a great help with Elon Musk, who’s been terrific,” Trump said in a Super Bowl interview that aired on Fox on Sunday. As to whether he trusted Musk, Trump replied: “Trust Elon? Oh, he’s not gaining anything. In fact, I wonder how he can devote the time to it. He’s so into it.”
Their alliance might be more enduring than many expect.
In many ways, Trump and Musk have complementary goals. Each has shown in their business careers that they abhor rules and regulations that constrain their actions. The political activity of the president and the tech visionary also shows disdain for checks and balances. Musk has recently been agitating on behalf of far-right parties in Europe, for example, mirroring Trump’s contempt for the will of voters in 2020.
And ahead of midterm elections in 2026, Republicans have every incentive to keep on the good side of the X owner, who threw many millions of dollars into electing Trump and fellow Republicans last year.
Washington might be reeling, but many voters approve of Trump’s fast start
So far, Trump’s political blitzkrieg — featuring endless TV appearances, a blizzard of executive orders and an appearance at the NFL’s big day Sunday — seems to be working.
A new CBS News poll Sunday showed 53 percent of adults approve of his handling of the presidency — a figure higher than his typical ratings during his first term. Some 70 percent of poll respondents say what the president has done so far are “the same things he promised in the campaign.” Pursuing what he calls a “commonsense” agenda, Trump has launched a hardline immigration purge, banned transgender athletes from women’s sports and targeted federal bureaucrats. Many of these issues resonated with Trump’s loyal base and a wider cohort of swing voters in last year’s election.
But there are several warning signs for Trump. The CBS poll found that two-thirds of Americans don’t believe the new administration is focusing enough on lowering prices — perhaps the most important issue in the election. And only 28 percent believe his policies will bring costs down. The president’s tariff policy, cemented by his promise to announce 25 percent duties on steel and aluminum imports on Monday, risks reigniting inflation and hiking the costs of goods and services.
And while it is a perennially popular position for outsider politicians to attack the federal government, Trump could eventually pay a price if his dismantling of agencies begins to infringe on the services and benefits many Americans derive from Washington.
Newly inaugurated presidents almost always overreach. And Trump’s pulverizing of the federal government risks alienating many more moderate voters — even if Democrats are still struggling to find a message that would counter him.
They have tried to goad Trump by referring to “President Musk,” but many of their attempts to push back against the White House’s assault on Washington institutions have put them in the position of defending the federal government that many voters distrust.
Cabinet secretaries and GOP leaders fold before Musk’s authority
The president’s solid public support for Musk explains why top Trump officials, Cabinet secretaries and senior Republicans in Congress fanned out across Sunday morning news shows to defend Musk, even though his dominance is eclipsing their power.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CNN’s Dana Bash that she’d back Trump and Musk closing the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which falls under her authority, even though its role is mandated by law. “I would say, yes, get rid of FEMA the way it exists today,” Noem said on “State of the Union,” adding that the funds normally used for FEMA should just be sent to state and local authorities after disasters.
This would represent a significant political risk for Trump, who suggested “getting rid of FEMA” when touring North Carolina flood damage last month. In many previous disasters, including hurricanes or wildfires, local officials have sometimes struggled without the expertise or scale of FEMA. And natural disasters have the potential to backfire on presidents politically if they are mismanaged.
Noem also insisted she had no problem with Musk burrowing deep into the DHS, which she insisted needed to be downsized. Her interview included a remarkable exchange, underscoring the SpaceX boss’ immense power.
Noem was asked whether she was OK with Musk — a private citizen who is not confirmed by Congress — accessing private data about disaster victims, as reported by The Washington Post. “The president has authorized him to have access to that,” Noem said. “And you feel comfortable with that?” Bash asked. Noem replied: “Absolutely … We can’t trust our government anymore.”
“But you are the government now,” said Bash.
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying, is that the American people now are saying that we have had our personal information shared and out there in the public,” Noem said.
Bash added: “Elon Musk has access to it. You just said he does.” To which Noem replied: “Yes, but Elon Musk is part of the administration that is helping us identify where we can find savings and what we can do.”
National security adviser Mike Waltz, a former member of Congress who has supported USAID in the past, justified Musk’s move in shuttering many of the agency’s programs, which critics say will offer US adversaries such as Russia and China a chance to fill the vacuum in the developing world.
He told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the mission of USAID was worthy when it “is aligned with US objectives, and US objectives meet the president’s objectives as a commander in chief.” He added: “But that is not the case. Many of these senior aid officials have their own agenda, have gone in their own direction.”
Waltz pointed out that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had issued a waiver for USAID programs that focus on lifesaving nutrition and medicines. But many aid workers around the world have told CNN there is huge confusion what is included, and programs and projects everywhere are shutting down.
Another agency that could soon be feeling the presence of Musk is the Pentagon. The issue of the SpaceX chief’s billions of dollars in federal contracts raises particular red flags here, although the second Trump administration seems utterly unconcerned with ethics issues and conflicts of interest involving Musk or any other senior official.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted on “Sunday Morning Futures” on Fox Business that “we welcome Elon Musk and DOGE coming into our department to help us identify additional ways in which we can streamline processes, fast-track acquisitions, cut waste, cut tail, to put it to tooth.”
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, meanwhile, told Manu Raju on CNN’s “Inside Politics” that Trump was doing exactly what he was elected to do. “No one wants to defend the waste, fraud and abuse, so they attack the guy who’s exposing all the waste, fraud and ridiculous things we’re spending money on,” the Ohio Republican said of Musk. And referring to Trump, Jordan added: “Frankly, 77 million people knew he was going to do this, and they voted for him on Election Day because of this.”
Yet even presidents do not acquire the power to ignore laws passed by Congress and the constitutional reality that lawmakers have the power of the purse. So, while Trump is riding high now as Musk trains his wrecking ball on new targets in Washington, a massive and historic constitutional battle may lie ahead.
