Even after three weeks, it is hard to accept the startling changes in the world flooding us from the Trump administration. If more citizens had read Project 2025, would that have changed their votes and the outcome of the last election? Did we mistake the playbook as less consequential than it has turned out to be? A handful of Project 2025’s authors or architects are now confirmed as part of the new administration, in key roles including Russ Vought (Office of Management and Budget); Stephen Miller (White House deputy chief of staff for policy and white supremacist-in-chief); Karoline Leavitt (White House Press Secretary now, his 2024 campaign’s national press secretary); Brendan Carr (Federal Communications Commission chair nominee; member of the FCC since 2017); and Tom Homan (“Border Czar” overseeing the southern and northern U.S. borders and all maritime and aviation security). I have undoubtedly missed others yet to be appointed, many of whom (like Homan) will not require Congressional confirmation, but this gives you a taste of what type of nominee is replacing the heads of key agencies, policies and processes: here we have control of the federal budget; oversight of policies; homeland security advisor; White House communications; Federal Communications Commission chair; and border czar.
As if this were not enough, Trump has tasked Elon Musk (in this context, an independent contractor and unrestrained libertarian) with the creation of DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk plays several roles for Trump, as cheerleader and bright boy, but also as enabler of a squad of college computer science graduates, moving freely through departments and agencies in search of graft and bloat. Initial strategy is not unlike that used on employees at Twitter, when Musk bought it and renamed it X. Trump’s team is big on shock and awe tactics, which range from freezing Congressionally authorized grants and program funds to fairly straightforward removal of senior career agency heads (in tandem with Vought), to reductions in force, and buyout offers for career service employees. His attempts to access the historically secure Treasury database have been temporarily checked in federal district courts, but that does not mean the DOGErs will not keep trying with other databases. His little team managed to remove the U.S. Agency for International Development website, lock out Congressional visitors to its office, and put employees on notice, though a district court judge has stayed that effort for further review. Word has it that they are already in the Department of Health & Human Services files – as indicated by the significant amount of material removed from the website – and that they’re queuing up the Department of Education and the Department of Defense. Please note it’s not clear that Musk or his team have high level security clearances that would be required by law for contractors, nor is it clear that he or they are being paid on contracts; nor is it clear that Musk is reporting to anyone other than reports of a recent Musk-Vance conversation. What is clear is that Trump does not care or even acknowledge these vital security issues.
Considering that we are only three weeks into this administration, with questions lingering on the most questionable of Trump’s unconfirmed nominees -- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (HHS); Cash Patel (FBI); Tulsi Gabbard (DNI) –it’s clear that Musk’s team will be slowed somewhat by federal district court actions, which may include requiring security clearances if not already in place for DOGE. All the while this basic carve out work is underway, we have Trump’s daily rants, threats and even more executive orders that relate to his absolute determination on the issues of tariffs, borders, deportation, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), transgender, pro-choice, and the acquisition of other international entities (Panama Canal, Greenland, Gaza). Identifying the flash-bang issues in this cluster by no means lessens their importance to him, or to us. It does illustrate how vast and disparate the flow of information is coming at us from the White House.
So the main thing is to keep your eyes and ears open, even though it means that it is hard to concentrate on much else. I’ve been asked a number of times for recommendations on what to read to keep up. I offer the following list:
The Hill newsletter, published daily free, this lead article on federal public health data preservation is relevant to my descriptions of what the Musk squad is doing. The newsletter covers all three branches of government, especially legislative or judicial matters.
“What This Moment Calls For/Now is Not the Time to Tune Out” the NY Times editorial on February 9th: “How Americans and the world handle such a president will determine much about the next four years, and it will ask much from all of us. We must meet the moment. Mr. Trump won the election fair and square, but his position is that of president, not king or god-emperor. Every time Congress allows him to exceed his constitutional role, it encourages more anti-democratic behavior and weakens the legislature’s ability to check further erosion of the norms and values that have helped make this nation the freest, richest and strongest in the world.” (Kudos to the NY Times, whose editorial board is writing more regularly these days. Both the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post usually also offer excellent editorial content.)
Carl Hulse, NY Times, February 9th. “White House Is Forcing a Showdown Over Congress’s Power of the Purse.” “The escalating conflict is already spilling into the lingering effort to finish off the spending bills for the current year. A stopgap bill keeping the government open will expire on March 14, leading to a government shutdown if no agreement can be reached.” (Newspaper and magazine articles are important sources of content, including local papers.)
Don Balz, Washington Post, “As Trump upheaval continues, are there restraints that could slow him down?” (This type of analysis is useful and needs to be read widely.)
The Ezra Klein Show (Podcast), NY Times
American author Rebecca Solnit on Facebook or her website (highly recommended)
Defense of the free press, especially local reporting, has never been more important. Equally important is applying pressure to your Congressional representatives as we move through the next few weeks.