Posted on 02/13/2025 4:22:25 AM PST by texas booster
ere are some of the untruths told about Elon Musk and DOGE.
“Musk has no right to cut USAID.”
Elon Musk and his team are not cutting any federal programs.
They are auditors. They were given legal authority under a presidential executive order creating the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Its mandate is to identify waste, abuse, fraud, and irrelevance in the federal budget at a time when the U.S. is $37 trillion in debt.
The agency will expire on July 4, 2026.
Ultimately, Trump can propose program cuts, but Congress holds the authority to approve or reject them. He may or may not act on all, some, or none of the DOGE recommendations.
“No one elected Musk.”
Like hundreds of government officials, Musk was appointed by an elected president to run an agency that does not require Senate confirmation.
Musk is as legally legitimate as the national security advisor and his National Security Council, none of whom require Senate confirmation.
Does the left believe former national security advisor Jake Sullivan, who made decisions far more pivotal than Musk, had no authority to do so because he too was neither elected nor confirmed by the Senate?
“It is a dangerous precedent to give a private citizen billionaire like Musk so much power.”
In fact, Musk has far more legal authority than did FDR’s best friend Harry Hopkins. He moved into the White House and de facto set U.S. foreign assistance policies toward Stalin’s Russia.
Musk’s position is more akin to past captains of industry like Henry Ford, Henry Kaiser, and William Knudson appointed by FDR to run the wartime economy.
None of them were either elected or confirmed by the Senate. All of them helped to save a poorly armed US after the debacle of Pearl Harbor.
(Excerpt) Read more at amgreatness.com ...
Hardly.
Foreign aid, which in all its manifestations in various cabinets and agencies is reaching nearly $80 billion per year, is not ending.
One of its distribution centers, USAID, may be vastly curtailed or bundled into the State Department. But the important bulk grants to allies like Israel or friends like Egypt or aid in times of famine relief and natural disasters to the needy abroad will remain. And these programs will be strengthened and saved precisely because they will be trimmed of skimmers and scammers.
Musk's role in DOGE is misunderstood: he's an appointed auditor with legal authority to find waste, not cut programs, and foreign aid isn't ending, though USAID's inefficiencies may be restructured.
A really good article by Prof Hanson. It is about time someone slowed down and remarked on what happening!
FR Index of his articles: Victor Davis Hanson on FR
Town Hall: Victor Davis Hanson on Town Hall
American Greatness: Victor Davis Hanson on American Greatness
His website: Victor Davis Hanson
Please let me know if you want on or off this new VDH ping list.
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Obama appointed 35 Czars to dodge Senate confirmation of these communist termite types. Trump is merely appointing Elon as his DOGE Czar......
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President Barack Obama appointed numerous “czars” during his administration to oversee specific policy areas or initiatives. While the exact number and titles of these positions varied depending on the source, here is a comprehensive list of approximately 30 czars appointed by Obama:
Policy and Issue-Specific Czars
Afghanistan Czar - Richard Holbrooke
AIDS Czar - Jeffrey Crowley
Auto Recovery Czar - Ed Montgomery
Border Czar - Alan Bersin
Car Czar - Ron Bloom
Climate Czar - Todd Stern
Cybersecurity Czar - (position created, but not filled during Obama’s term)
Domestic Violence Czar - Lynn Rosenthal
Drug Czar - Gil Kerlikowske12
Economic Czar - Paul Volcker
Energy and Environment Czar - Carol Browner
Faith-Based Czar - Joshua DuBois
Great Lakes Czar - Cameron Davis
Green Jobs Czar - Van Jones (resigned in 2009)
Guantanamo Closure Czar - Daniel Fried
Health Czar - Nancy-Ann DeParle12
Information Czar - Vivek Kundra113
Intelligence Czar - Dennis C. Blair (2009-2010), James R. Clapper (2010-2017)13
Iran Czar - Dennis Ross13
Mideast Peace Czar - George Mitchell
Pay Czar - Kenneth Feinberg
Regulatory Czar - Cass Sunstein
Science Czar - John Holdren12
Stimulus Accountability Czar - Earl Devaney
TARP Czar - Herb Allison
Technology Czar - Aneesh Chopra4
Terrorism Czar - John Brennan
Urban Affairs Czar - Adolfo Carrion Jr.
Weapons Czar - Ashton Carter12
WMD Policy Czar - Gary Samore
Additional Czars
California Water Czar - David J. Hayes24
Central Region Czar - Dennis Ross1
Government Performance Czar - Jeffrey Zients2
Safe Schools Czar - Kevin Jennings2
Sudan Czar - J. Scott Gration1
It’s important to note that the term “czar” was often applied informally by the media and critics, rather than being an official title. Some of these positions were Senate-confirmed roles, while others were special advisors or coordinators within the White House4. The use of czars in the Obama administration drew both praise for efficient governance and criticism for potentially bypassing congressional oversight611.
Where did that list come from?
Wonder what they are all doing today?
Might be a good project before they scrub their histories from The Interweb.
Thank you for this post.
I also appreciate the subsequent discussion comments.
The lefty socialists ( fascisti in fact) are segued from “Hate Trump, Orange Man bad,” to “Hate Musk, Afrikanner Bad.”
Next they will call for S{Pace X and Tesla to be destroyed. Acts of arson are about to be committed at Tesla Dealerships across America.
It is time to end these SOROS funded arson actions. Arrest them and clap them in irons.
Deny them their illegal money laundering and kick back schemes.
We need Kash PAtel very badly.
Soros was taking credit for what USAID was doing.
Soros control a banking network in Europe: All of the Slavic countries and Ukraine.I bet that Soros has his paper shredders over in Europe working overtime.
Money Laundering. You bet. lots of money right back into Democrats private hands.Billions.
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