Do something!

Democrats and the press are treating what looks like a hostile takeover of government by a narcissistic billionaire as a normal presidential transition.

I started this blog in March 2013 after Republicans took control of both the North Carolina legislature and the Governor’s Mansion. They quickly ran roughshod over state government, passing crazy laws like one banning Sharia Law. They wanted to drug test anybody who received government funds. Two legislators introduced a bill to enact a state religion. Another wanted to withdraw from the Federal Reserve and create a state currency. They were meddling in local governments, making nonpartisan elections partisan and forcing redistricting to ensure Republican control of city councils and county boards of commission. They tried to takeover water systems and airports.

I began writing because media didn’t seem to understand what was happening and the Democrats didn’t understand how to oppose them. People needed to know more than what was happening. They needed to understand why it mattered and the broader impact of the GOP hordes pillaging the state that I love. They needed to know that the modern GOP cared little about norms or democracy. They only cared about power and they were trying to secure it for themselves.

Today, I get a sense of déjá vu except this time it’s the federal government. Donald Trump has sent a wrecking ball through the executive branch in the form of Elon Musk. The media is covering what may be a coup by a bunch of private contractors as if it’s just a new administration taking over the federal government. Headlines bounce between Musk’s minions getting access to the American people’s data to the potential impacts of tariffs and bullying Panama. Democrats are absent altogether.

Musk’s people are entering federal offices demanding access to private data. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is not even a government agency. It’s an extrajudicial arm of the Trump campaign. Musk’s minions are data nerd versions of Brownshirts and they’re assaulting government institutions. The new administration should be called the Musk-Trump Syndicate, or MUMPS for short.

On Friday, they took control of the Treasury’s payment system that sends money to millions of American citizens and businesses. The most personal data of private citizens is now in the hands of rogue actors. According to Greg Sargent of The New Republic, “[T]he move could potentially give DOGE the power to turn off all kinds of government payments in a targeted way.”

Musk’s henchmen also had top administrators of USAID escorted out of their headquarters and took control of classified information. USAID works with foreign governments around the world. Elon Musk has private conversations with U.S. adversaries like Putin and does extensive business with China. Musk accessing classified information is putting people’s lives at risk.

Musk is on his platform making spurious accusations about government agencies, especially USAID. This morning, he says Trump gave him authority to shutter the agency. Trump doesn’t have that authority. Congress does and the GOP leaders are rolling over for Musk.

The Democratic establishment is acting like the system still works and Musk and company are playing by the old rules. In response to an AP headline that Musk’s minions “gained access to sensitive Treasury payment systems,” Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell tweeted, “Congress needs an explanation as to why the head of a private data management corporation and his volunteer team needed access to this system in the middle of the night.”

Explanations? The country needs action! By the time Musk and his minions answer to Congress, they will have control of the whole government.

Democratic Members of Congress need to get to the Treasury and USAID buildings and occupy them. They need to demand access and protect employees. They need to put tails on Musk’s minions to see where they are headed next. If they need to get arrested, so be it. Their job right now is to resist the hostile takeover of the American government by a narcissistic billionaire and his presidential minion. If they wait to see what happens, they will be too late.

Trump is preparing a major purge of the FBI, possibly firing thousands of agents who will likely be replaced by people loyal to the president not the Constitution. He sure looks like he’s preparing to build a secret police force. If that’s what’s happening, we’re in a very dangerous place.

Right now, overreacting is better than caution. If Musk and Trump are actually doing what they appear to be doing, then waiting to find out will be too late to stop it. Put the brakes on them now. The public needs to see what’s happening with their data and their government, not the potential impacts of tariffs.

Democrats need to do something. Maybe Trump is just implementing a legitimate transition on steroids, but Democrats need to draw attention to what’s happening and get in the way of the process. They can’t afford to let it play out.