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There’s mounting evidence that Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary is not telling the truth about DOGE’s infiltration of the federal payments system.

This week, we’ll focus on how DOGE’s priorities seem to reflect Musk’s grudges and interests in a less efficient government. Trying to be thorough without being totally thorough (the reign of ignorant terror is as vast as it is deep and consequential), here are several of the most salient examples of the Trump’s administration’s prioritization of corporate interests at the expense of the public. 

In a recent episode of Pod Save America, the hosts argued there was a “right” and “wrong” way to reduce the size of the federal government. We wholeheartedly disagree with that perspective. What the Trump administration is doing is indeed incredibly destructive and “wrong” and ostensibly center, center left and left wing voices need to push back against the idea that there’s a “right” way to slash the federal budget and workforce. We should be pushing for more resources for non-defense agencies, not less. 

After a week of rumors that the Trump administration was planning to implement severe cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), it happened—though the White House reportedly denied that it would. This past Friday, senior officials were informed that 5200 relatively recent hires would be fired across multiple agencies at HHS, with 1300 at the CDC specifically. 

RDP senior researcher Kenny Stancil spoke with Counterpoint’s Scott Harris about his article, “Where Is the Democratic Opposition?”, and the need to organize an effective and aggressive national Trump opposition movement both inside the Democratic Party and across civil society.

Week 4 of Trump’s presidency proves yet again that Trump is only in it for his billionaire buddies. This past week, Trump and Musk repeatedly reminded us that the federal government is ready to serve the interests of their wealthy friends. In fact, in one case, Trump managed to pair this ongoing corruption with another core theme of his administration: demonization of immigrants. As our Jeff Hauser noted, by reassigning Internal Revenue Service agents to the immigration crackdown, Trump has essentially granted billionaires a “get out of taxes free card.”Let’s take a look at some other recipients of Trumpworld’s largesse (Spoiler alert: The biggest is of course Elon Musk):

Unelected billionaire Elon Musk and his DOGE demolition crew have infiltrated the Treasury Department’s payments system. We’re tracking this crisis as it unfolds.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was asked about the Elon Musk-led DOGE team’s meddling in the Treasury Department’s payments system. His answers raise additional questions.

With rumors growing that Trump plans to sign an executive order which would effectively dismantle the Department of Education, this factsheet highlights the likely deleterious effects for millions of students across the country.

Jay Parsons, the economist and price-setting software cheerleader who left RealPage right before it started getting sued by tenants and state AGs across the country for allegedly colluding with landlords to raise rents, joined JPI last week. If JPI rings a bell, perhaps it is because it is the development company that Scott Turner just left before his improbable nomination and confirmation as Secretary of HUD.

On January 27 the Trump administration issued a memo ordering a freeze of federal grants and loans, which crippled critical services across the country. Judge Loren L. AliKhan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and Judge John McConnell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island have since blocked the spending pause from going into effect, but there are still numerous examples of shuttered programs and services. We are tracking notable examples.

While members of Congress try to obtain an official list of personnel working for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the media have been keeping tabs on Musk and his team as they sweep through the federal government. Along with our list of individuals reportedly affiliated with DOGE, we’ve compiled a list of the agencies reportedly visited by DOGE in the first weeks of the Trump administration.