Janice R. Andrews
As Elon Musk gets more involved in Donald Trump’s campaign for president in 2024, people are starting to wonder what a possible second Trump administration might be like, especially when it comes to how the government works and how much it spends. Musk, who is the richest person in the world, has been supporting Trump on his X platform, which used to be Twitter. With nearly 200 million users, X is a powerful tool. However, Musk’s power could reach far beyond support on social media if Trump wins again.
What role does Musk play in Trump’s campaign?
Musk has been busy on X, and some of his posts have made news. After what seemed to be a second attempt to kill Trump, Musk raised questions by asking why Kamala Harris and Vice President Joe Biden have not been attacked. The post was later taken down, but it showed that Musk was ready to use his position to upset people.
Musk has not only sent out angry tweets, but he has also backed up conspiracy theories. For example, one said that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were taking and eating pets from white neighborhoods. This kind of post shows that Musk is ready to spread false information, which makes Trump’s campaign more unstable.
Is Musk going to lead “dramatic” cuts to the government?
One less well-known thing that happened with Musk and Trump is that he agreed to lead a special committee whose job it is to cut government spending. Musk offered a “government efficiency commission” in August 2024 as a way to make sure that taxpayer money is being handled properly. Trump liked the idea and praised Musk for his bold ways of cutting costs, which were shown when he took over Twitter/X in 2022 and fired 75% of the staff.
Trump’s ideas for government are similar to Musk’s way of running a business, where workers who don’t meet his high standards are fired. Trump called Elon Musk “the greatest cutter,” which shows that he admires how efficiently Musk runs his companies, such as Tesla and SpaceX.
Musk’s Extreme Plan for the U.S. Government
Musk wants to cut federal staff, which is similar to Trump’s plan to shrink the government. However, it might not be as easy as it sounds. When asked if he would cut up to 5% of government staff every year, which would be about 150,000 people, Musk gave the impression that bigger cuts might be needed. He wouldn’t give any more information, saying that doing so might put him at risk of being killed.
Experts warn that Musk may overestimate his power, even though he has big plans. Congress has the final say on how much the government spends, so cutting public jobs would need their approval. Casey Burgat, who runs the congressional affairs program at George Washington University, said that Musk doesn’t have the kind of power he does in his private businesses because of how the U.S. government works.
Could Trump Change How the Government Works?
But if the Supreme Court is mostly made up of conservatives, Trump might be able to get policies passed that test the limits of presidential power. A professor at Syracuse University named Richard Barton says that Trump might try making rules and letting the courts, which are now favoring him, handle any judicial challenges.
A lot of people are scared about this possibility because they think that Trump’s return to office, along with Musk’s bold approach to cutting costs, could cause big changes in how the government works.
Concerns About Conflicts of Interest
Concerns about possible conflicts of interest are raised by Musk’s growing power. Government policies could have an effect on his businesses, such as SpaceX, which feeds NASA, and Tesla, which has to follow government rules. Similarly, Trump’s history of mixing business interests with his political duties, such as putting family members in important roles, makes many people wonder what the moral implications of a relationship between Musk and Trump would be.
Putting conflict-of-interest rules into place will depend on what Congress does. Burgat says that Congress didn’t do much to address these issues during Trump’s first term.
Elon Musk is becoming more involved in Donald Trump’s bid for president in 2024, which could have huge effects on the future of U.S. government. Musk’s calls for big cuts to the government and his controversial public comments show that he has a lot of power in politics as well as in the business. As the election date gets closer, the idea that Musk could play a big part in a second Trump administration makes people wonder about the future of government efficiency, power, and conflicts of interest.
