Trump & Musk are the Hijacking of the Federal Government

How DOGE’s Unprecedented Access to Treasury and OPM Paves the Way for Executive Control

This is not a drill. Authoritarianism is knocking.

In a stunning and unprecedented move, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has gained access to some of the most sensitive systems within the U.S. federal government—including the Treasury’s federal payment network, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and the General Services Administration (GSA) (The Wall Street Journal). This decision, authorized by Trump-appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, effectively hands direct influence over Social Security, Medicare payments, federal salaries, and tax refunds to a Musk-controlled agency operating under the banner of “efficiency.”

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But this isn’t just about streamlining government operations—it’s about consolidating power, bypassing oversight, and executing one of the most aggressive shakeups in federal history. It’s also part of a much larger effort to reshape the U.S. government into an executive-controlled apparatus, closely aligning with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint to replace career civil servants with political appointees and dramatically increase presidential authority (The Guardian).

DOGE’s Takeover: The “Efficiency” Excuse

The stated purpose of DOGE is to streamline federal operations, reduce bureaucracy, and cut government spending. But its first major action—gaining access to the Treasury’s payment system—raises major alarms about financial security, accountability, and the integrity of government functions (The Wall Street Journal).

Read our story here on Musk/DOGE in the BFS.

DOGE now has influence over a system that distributes nearly 88% of all federal payments, including:

✅ Social Security and Medicare benefits
✅ Federal salaries and tax refunds
✅ National emergency relief funds

This is the first time in U.S. history that an outside entity controlled by a billionaire with extensive private interests has been given this level of direct access. While the Trump administration claims this will improve government efficiency, no clear safeguards are preventing potential misuse of funds, such as:

• Withholding payments to political opponents or blue states

• Redirecting federal money to Musk-affiliated companies or allies

• Weakening oversight to allow financial corruption

Read our story here on Musk/DOGE in the USAID

DOGE’s entry into the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the General Services Administration (GSA) is just as troubling. These agencies control federal hiring, oversee security clearances, and manage government contracts and real estate (Wired).

🚨 Key concerns:

• Mass firings of career officials – Trump has long sought to replace career civil servants with political loyalists through policies like Schedule F, making it easier to purge federal agencies of opposition (Project on Government Oversight).

• Security risks and personnel data access—OPM contains classified records of millions of federal employees, including military, CIA, and FBI personnel, which are now potentially accessible to Musk’s team.

• Manipulation of federal contracts – GSA manages billions in federal contracts, which could favor Musk-linked companies or conservative donors without proper oversight.

Young, inexperienced engineers—many with ties to Musk and Peter Thiel—are being placed in key roles within these agencies, raising even more concerns about competence and security (Wired).

How Project 2025 Ties In

If this feels like the dismantling of government as we know it, that’s because it is—and it’s by design. These moves are not isolated; they are part of a broader strategy outlined in Project 2025, a policy roadmap created by The Heritage Foundation to reshape the federal government into a presidentially controlled entity with minimal oversight (Business Insider).

🔹 Project 2025 Goals That Are Now Being Realized:
✅ Expanding executive control over government agencies → DOGE now has unchecked access to Treasury, OPM, and GSA
✅ Replacing career officials with political appointees → DOGE is placing inexperienced, politically connected personnel in key roles
✅ Bypassing congressional oversight and consolidating power in the executive branch → Congress was not consulted before DOGE was granted access

The Trump administration’s reinstatement of Schedule F, a policy allowing easier removal of career officials, further proves that Project 2025 is actively being implemented (The Guardian).

The Authoritarian Shift: A Warning Sign?

Is this a slide into authoritarianism?

While the U.S. still has elections, courts, and a functioning Congress, the signs of an increasingly autocratic government are difficult to ignore:

✅ Centralizing power – The executive branch is exerting direct control over agencies without oversight.
✅ Undermining democratic norms – Career officials are being purged and replaced with political loyalists.
✅ Bypassing institutional safeguards – Standard security and financial oversight mechanisms are being overridden for political expediency.
✅ Silencing opposition – Officials who resist, like USAID leaders placed on leave, are being sidelined (The Guardian).

Read our story here about the firing of independent Inspectors General.

🚨 The biggest red flag? This transformation is happening rapidly, with little resistance from Congress or the courts.

What Happens Next?

The big question now is: Who will stop this?

• Congressional Democrats are demanding investigations, but their power is limited.

• The courts could intervene, but Trump has stacked the judiciary with conservative appointees, making rulings unpredictable.

• State attorneys general may file lawsuits, arguing that federal payments and job security laws are being violated.

One thing is clear: This is not about efficiency—it is about control. If unchecked, DOGE’s influence could be the instrument of a government in which power is concentrated in the hands of a few and democratic norms are permanently eroded.

The American public must pay attention, demand transparency, and resist efforts to dismantle the institutions that uphold democracy. Once control over federal systems is fully centralized, it becomes much harder to regain it.

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The time to question and resist these changes is now—before the government as we know it is fundamentally and irreversibly transformed.