Capture of U.S. Critical Infrastructure by Neoreactionaries

Following President Trump’s Executive Order establishing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), m have been shocked by the speed and scope of changes led by Elon Musk. While DOGE in theory aligns with longstanding conservative ambitions, the reality is that Musk has not limited government or dismantled the deep state; he has replaced it with himself. Under his radical restructuring of federal power, the White House is at risk of becoming captive to Musk’s demands. This memo outlines four alarming developments that transcend partisanship.

I. Musk-aligned operatives have seized control of the Office of Personnel Management (OP purging career civil servants and installing loyalists with ties to Musk’s private ventures.

II. DOGE has deployed unvetted hires—many under 25 years old—who now wield de facto control over sensitive government functions without security clearances. These individuals, drawn from Musk’s orbit and Silicon Valley’s neo-reactionary (NRx) network, operate without legal oversight or accountability.

III. DOGE has gained read-write access over Treasury pipes and federal payment systems, granting Musk direct influence over the financial infrastructure of the U.S. government. unprecedented control over money flows creates a national security risk and a personal pow lever for Musk.

IV. The congressionally mandated divestment of TikTok has been delayed, with reported Chinese interest in Musk as a buyer. If successful, Musk would control not just X (formerly Twitter) but also the largest platform shaping youth political discourse—further concentrating his influence over public opinio Rather than operating as an ally of the Trump administration, Musk has hijacked its ambitions for his own purposes.

His rapid takeover of federal infrastructure mirrors the broader ambitions of the neoreactionary (NRx) movement—a small group of Silicon Valley elites who reject democracy and seek to install a "CEO Monarch" to rule by technological and financial dominance. This network includes Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, Balaji Srinivasan, Dav Sacks, and Curtis Yarvin, among others. Once considered fringe, purveyors of this ideology have now been embedded into the core of government operations.

Musk’s maneuvering demonstrates a long-standing strategy of this elite class: not dismantling government, but replacing its power structures with ones they control. DOGE has not reduced bureaucracy—it has privatized it.

Treasury has not been made more efficient—it has been placed under a billionaire’s influence. TikTok has not secured from foreign threats—it has been delayed so Musk can position himself as its gatekeeper. President Trump, far from asserting dominance over the administrative state, may now find himself hostage to Musk

This memo calls for immediate congressional action to reassert democratic control and prevent Musk’s further entrenchment into government infrastructure including launching urgent investigations into DOGE’s hiring practices, Treasury access, and OPM purges; strengthening security and conflicts-of-interest laws; enforcing divestment measures; barring Musk fr acquiring TikTok; and limiting Musk’s influence over national security and diplomatic affa The scale, speed, and opacity of Musk’s actions demand urgent scrutiny—not just as a policy concern, but as a direct challenge to the constitutional order and the President’s independence. If left unchecked, Musk’s consolidation of power will shift control over critical U.S. infrastructure away from accountable governance and into the hands of a single private actor, setting a dangerous precedent for the future of American democracy. Congress must act now to prevent a private hostile takeover of public power. [...]

ESTABLISHING AND IMPLEMENTING THE PRESIDENT’S “DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY” EXECUTIVE ORDER January 20, 2025

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Purpose. This Executive Order establishes the Department of Government Efficiency to implement the President’s DOGE Agenda, by modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.
Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this order:
(a) “Agency” has the meaning given to it in section 551 of title 5, United States Code, except that such term does not include the Executive Office of the President or any components thereof.
(b) “Agency Head” means the highest-ranking official of an agency, such as the Secretary, Administrator, Chairman, or Director, unless otherwise specified in this order.
Sec. 3. DOGE Structure. (a) Reorganization and Renaming of the United States Digital Service. The United States Digital Service is hereby publicly renamed as the United States DOGE Service (USDS) and shall be established in the Executive Office of the President.
(b) Establishment of a Temporary Organization. There shall be a USDS Administrator established in the Executive Office of the President who shall report to the White House Chief of Staff. There is further established within USDS, in accordance with section 3161 of title 5, United States Code, a temporary organization known as “the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization”. The U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization shall be headed by the USDS Administrator and shall be dedicated to advancing the President’s 18-month DOGE agenda. The U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization shall terminate on July 4, 2026. The termination of the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization shall not be interpreted to imply the termination, attenuation, or amendment of any other authority or provision of this order.
(c) DOGE Teams. In consultation with USDS, each Agency Head shall establish within their respective Agencies a DOGE Team of at least four employees, which may include Special Government Employees, hired or assigned within thirty days of the date of this Order. Agency Heads shall select the DOGE Team members in consultation with the USDS Administrator. Each DOGE Team will typically include one DOGE Team Lead, one engineer, one human resources specialist, and one attorney. Agency Heads shall ensure that DOGE Team Leads coordinate their work with USDS and advise their respective Agency Heads on implementing the President ‘s DOGE Agenda.
Sec. 4. Modernizing Federal Technology and Software to Maximize Efficiency and Productivity. (a) The USDS Administrator shall commence a Software Modernization Initiative to improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide software, network infrastructure, and information technology (IT) systems. Among other things, the USDS Administrator shall work with Agency Heads to promote inter-operability between agency networks and systems, ensure data integrity, and facilitate responsible data collection and synchronization.
(b) Agency Heads shall take all necessary steps, in coordination with the USDS Administrator and to the maximum extent consistent with law, to ensure USDS has full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems. USDS shall adhere to rigorous data protection standards.
(c) This Executive Order displaces all prior executive orders and regulations, insofar as they are subject to direct presidential amendment, that might serve as a barrier to providing USDS access to agency records and systems as described above.
Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 20, 2025.

Former United States Digital Service:

FACT SHEET: Improving and Simplifying Digital Services

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
August 11, 2014
FACT SHEET: Improving and Simplifying Digital Services
“I want us to ask ourselves every day, how are we using technology to make a real difference in people’s lives.”
— President Barack Obama
Late last year, a team of digital and technology experts helped to turn-around HealthCare.gov. Today, building on the same proven strategic approach that ultimately enabled millions of Americans to sign up for health insurance, the Administration is launching the U.S. Digital Service. This small team of America’s best digital experts will work in collaboration with other government agencies to make websites more consumer friendly, to identify and fix problems, and to help upgrade the government’s technology infrastructure. Mikey Dickerson, a top private-sector engineer who was part of the team that helped fix HealthCare.gov will serve as the new Administrator of the U.S. Digital Service and Deputy Federal Chief Information Officer.
The team has one core mission: to improve and simplify the digital experience that people and businesses have with their government by:
Establishing standards to bring the government’s digital services in line with the best private sector services;
Identifying common technology patterns that will help us scale services effectively;
Collaborating with agencies to identify and address gaps in their capacity to design, develop, deploy and operate excellent citizen-facing services; and
Providing accountability to ensure agencies see results.
With today’s announcement, the Administration is also releasing for public comment two crucial components in our growing IT toolkit that will enable agencies to do their best work– the Digital Service Playbook and the TechFAR Handbook.
Leveraging Best Practices with the Digital Services Playbook. To help the Digital Service achieve its mission, today the Administration is releasing the initial version of a Digital Services Playbook that lays out best practices for effective digital service delivery and that will serve as a guide for agencies across government. To increase the success of government digital service projects, this playbook outlines 13 key “plays” drawn from private and public-sector best practices that, if followed together, will help Federal agencies deliver services that work well for users and require less time and money to develop and operate.
Using Agile Processes to Procure Digital Services with the TechFAR Handbook. Too often, the lack of guidance encouraging agency use of innovative contracting practices results in narrow and overly rigid interpretations of federal acquisition rules that complicates the government’s ability to adopt smarter ways of acquiring high-quality digital services. To ensure government has the right tech tools to do its job, and can be more agile and flexible to meet rapidly changing needs, the Administration is also today launching the TechFAR Handbook, a guide that explains how agencies can execute key plays in the Playbook in ways consistent with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which governs how the government must buy goods and services from the private sector. This document will help agencies take advantage of existing authorities to procure development services in new ways that more closely match the modern software development techniques used in the private sector.

USDS Website: https://www.usds.gov/

I thought FReepers might consider it an undesirable situation.

I think FReepers would disregard fear porn by "anonymous" sources designed to build a wedge between President Trump and Musk.

Consider this:

President Trump thought this through. From the Executive Order, every DOGE team has the following personnel:

(c) DOGE Teams. In consultation with USDS, each Agency Head shall establish within their respective Agencies a DOGE Team of at least four employees, which may include Special Government Employees, hired or assigned within thirty days of the date of this Order. Agency Heads shall select the DOGE Team members in consultation with the USDS Administrator. Each DOGE Team will typically include one DOGE Team Lead, one engineer, one human resources specialist, and one attorney. Agency Heads shall ensure that DOGE Team Leads coordinate their work with USDS and advise their respective Agency Heads on implementing the President ‘s DOGE Agenda.

Key takeaways:

Each Agency Head picks the DOGE team, not Musk or President Trump.
Each team has a lawyer and an HR representative on the team to ensure proper compliance with the law.
DOGE Team Leaders advise the Agency Head and Musk of their findings.
The Agency Head issues the actions to be taken based on the DOGE Team's findings, not Musk.

Everything that's being done is being done by the book, with oversight and proper authorities involved.

-PJ

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.