6 ms·

Musk appears at White House defending DOGE's work but acknowledging mistakes

21 points by nickburns 2y ago

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
duxup 2y ago
>The White House has also been moving to limit independent oversight. The inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development was fired a day after warning that it had become nearly impossible to monitor $8.2 billion in humanitarian funds after DOGE began dismantling the agency. It's hard not to think that with this administration when they talk about fraud and misuse of funds ... they're just telling us what they intend to do ...
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
nickburns 2y ago
I encourage anyone to watch Elon's full remarks (and mostly ignore the other guy seated at the Resolute desk): https://youtu.be/gAuTb-yMNk4 https://youtu.be/gAuTb-yMNk4
- techapple 2y ago
  Why?
  - inverted_flag 2y ago
    He's not in charge.
    - krapp 2y ago
      Are you sure about that?
      - Tadpole9181 2y ago
        The kid literally tells him "you're not the president so you need to go away". Pretty sure little X didn't think of that out of nowhere.
  - renegade-otter 2y ago
    [flagged]
- metadat 2y ago
  Disturbing to see, unprecedented for someone to behave so cavalier in the Oval Office in front of the media. Speaking (poorly) at length and overshadowing the President while he sits there, with Elon greasy looking and wearing a dirty T-shirt and black baseball cap, the whole circusesque scene is wow beyond belief, bad vibes all around. Piling on the above, Musk's verbal diarrhea makes it even worse. He downplays the role of DOGE, saying he's stopping 150 year old Social Security collectors, when in reality he's shutting down critical government functions on the daily ("XX agency: R.I.P."). "We post our activity on X! And the DOGE website." Because now X is totally a valid outlet for government activity.. </s>, gross. It's all one big lie, and the rest of the government has apparently been capitulated, resistance is futile. What does the ending look like in this case? That comment by @tomrod the other day, a list of sane questions, is still becoming more relevant, IMHO: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43003791 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43003791
  - IAmGraydon 2y ago
    Yeah this is utterly bizarre to watch. It's very, very not right, and I think there may be an actual real coup going on right now. I think Trump is either complicit or being manipulated to hand the US over to a delusional man with an incredibly dangerous set of ideas. How are none of the people we elected in Washington doing anything about this? Elon should be forcibly removed. This is not the will of the people.
silexia 2y ago
Federal employee in the article says, "It is too easy to vilify us". Hmmm... now why is that?
- sympil 2y ago
  I like how Asimov put it: There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." It was easy to convince millions of people that they shouldn’t vaccinate their kids. Such idiots can easily be convinced of anything.
  - silexia 2y ago
    How is disliking the massively growing cancer that is the federal government anti intellectualism? Have you ever gone to the DMV or the IRS or Social Security buildings and thought "this is a gathering of superb intellects?" ;) The federal government has no mechanism for removing bad agencies or employees. So it eternally grows like a cancer. But it's a cancer that can force any one of us individuals to do exactly what it wishes.
    - sympil 2y ago
      …"this is a gathering of superb intellects?”… I havent come to HN and thought this either.
      - nickburns 2y ago
        In Comments Be kind. Don't be snarky. Converse curiously; don't cross-examine. Edit out swipes. Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive. When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3." Please don't fulminate. Please don't sneer, including at the rest of the community. Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith. Eschew flamebait. Avoid generic tangents. Omit internet tropes. Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something. Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. It tramples curiosity. Please don't comment on whether someone read an article. "Did you even read the article? It mentions that" can be shortened to "The article mentions that". Please don't pick the most provocative thing in an article or post to complain about in the thread. Find something interesting to respond to instead. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
kmos17 2y ago
So we now have an unelected, un-appointed civilian who is the richest man in the world in the oval office telling us how he is tearing it all apart, while the guy who was actually elected is just seating there, and people think this is normal?
- nickburns 2y ago
  That's how the executive branch works. No executive actions have thus far been successfully challenged to run afoul of the Appointments Clause. This is fundamental US constitutional law. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appointments_Clause https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appointments_Clause
  - sympil 2y ago
    You should carefully reread the link. What Elon is doing does not have precedence in the U.S. Elon does not have the consent of the Senate. His position is not authorized by Congress or the Constituion. Much of our system relies on people acting in accordance to precedent and within certain established norms. What Elon is doing is way outside those norms. The system is not set up for this type of power to be concentrated in one person who operates outside Congressional oversight. And it appears increasingly likely that he will operate without judicial oversight too. I like how George W. Bush’s ethics counsel put it. https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/elon-musk-trump-government-overreach-democracy-threat/article_b6ee0100-e7ee-11ef-833f-2708b79572dd.html https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/elon-musk-trump-go...
    - nickburns 2y ago
      Just because it has no precedence does not unconstitutional it make. I agree with the majority of the rest of what you've said. No need for the 'you should carefully reread' snark. Not only am I the OP—but I've also passed a bar exam in my lifetime, which preparation included careful US constitutional law study.
      - sympil 2y ago
sympil 2y ago
The most striking thing to me is that Elon was in the oval office answering questions. It’s hard to understand a President emasculating himself in such a public way. Elon’s kid was there too. It’s truly bizarre to see the lack of decorum and the brazen way Elon acted as if it were he in charge. Trump’s supporters at one time decried Obama wearing a tan suit.
- jacquesm 2y ago
  He was in charge.

21 points by nickburns 2y ago

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

>The White House has also been moving to limit independent oversight. The inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development was fired a day after warning that it had become nearly impossible to monitor $8.2 billion in humanitarian funds after DOGE began dismantling the agency. It's hard not to think that with this administration when they talk about fraud and misuse of funds ... they're just telling us what they intend to do ...

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

nickburns 2y ago

I encourage anyone to watch Elon's full remarks (and mostly ignore the other guy seated at the Resolute desk): https://youtu.be/gAuTb-yMNk4 https://youtu.be/gAuTb-yMNk4

techapple 2y ago
Why?
- inverted_flag 2y ago
  He's not in charge.
  - krapp 2y ago
    Are you sure about that?
    - Tadpole9181 2y ago
      The kid literally tells him "you're not the president so you need to go away". Pretty sure little X didn't think of that out of nowhere.
- renegade-otter 2y ago
  [flagged]
metadat 2y ago
Disturbing to see, unprecedented for someone to behave so cavalier in the Oval Office in front of the media. Speaking (poorly) at length and overshadowing the President while he sits there, with Elon greasy looking and wearing a dirty T-shirt and black baseball cap, the whole circusesque scene is wow beyond belief, bad vibes all around. Piling on the above, Musk's verbal diarrhea makes it even worse. He downplays the role of DOGE, saying he's stopping 150 year old Social Security collectors, when in reality he's shutting down critical government functions on the daily ("XX agency: R.I.P."). "We post our activity on X! And the DOGE website." Because now X is totally a valid outlet for government activity.. </s>, gross. It's all one big lie, and the rest of the government has apparently been capitulated, resistance is futile. What does the ending look like in this case? That comment by @tomrod the other day, a list of sane questions, is still becoming more relevant, IMHO: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43003791 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43003791
- IAmGraydon 2y ago
  Yeah this is utterly bizarre to watch. It's very, very not right, and I think there may be an actual real coup going on right now. I think Trump is either complicit or being manipulated to hand the US over to a delusional man with an incredibly dangerous set of ideas. How are none of the people we elected in Washington doing anything about this? Elon should be forcibly removed. This is not the will of the people.

silexia 2y ago

Federal employee in the article says, "It is too easy to vilify us". Hmmm... now why is that?

sympil 2y ago
I like how Asimov put it: There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." It was easy to convince millions of people that they shouldn’t vaccinate their kids. Such idiots can easily be convinced of anything.
- silexia 2y ago
  How is disliking the massively growing cancer that is the federal government anti intellectualism? Have you ever gone to the DMV or the IRS or Social Security buildings and thought "this is a gathering of superb intellects?" ;) The federal government has no mechanism for removing bad agencies or employees. So it eternally grows like a cancer. But it's a cancer that can force any one of us individuals to do exactly what it wishes.
  - sympil 2y ago
    …"this is a gathering of superb intellects?”… I havent come to HN and thought this either.
    - nickburns 2y ago
      In Comments Be kind. Don't be snarky. Converse curiously; don't cross-examine. Edit out swipes. Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive. When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3." Please don't fulminate. Please don't sneer, including at the rest of the community. Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith. Eschew flamebait. Avoid generic tangents. Omit internet tropes. Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something. Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. It tramples curiosity. Please don't comment on whether someone read an article. "Did you even read the article? It mentions that" can be shortened to "The article mentions that". Please don't pick the most provocative thing in an article or post to complain about in the thread. Find something interesting to respond to instead. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

kmos17 2y ago

So we now have an unelected, un-appointed civilian who is the richest man in the world in the oval office telling us how he is tearing it all apart, while the guy who was actually elected is just seating there, and people think this is normal?

nickburns 2y ago
That's how the executive branch works. No executive actions have thus far been successfully challenged to run afoul of the Appointments Clause. This is fundamental US constitutional law. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appointments_Clause https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appointments_Clause
- sympil 2y ago
  You should carefully reread the link. What Elon is doing does not have precedence in the U.S. Elon does not have the consent of the Senate. His position is not authorized by Congress or the Constituion. Much of our system relies on people acting in accordance to precedent and within certain established norms. What Elon is doing is way outside those norms. The system is not set up for this type of power to be concentrated in one person who operates outside Congressional oversight. And it appears increasingly likely that he will operate without judicial oversight too. I like how George W. Bush’s ethics counsel put it. https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/elon-musk-trump-government-overreach-democracy-threat/article_b6ee0100-e7ee-11ef-833f-2708b79572dd.html https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/elon-musk-trump-go...
  - nickburns 2y ago
    Just because it has no precedence does not unconstitutional it make. I agree with the majority of the rest of what you've said. No need for the 'you should carefully reread' snark. Not only am I the OP—but I've also passed a bar exam in my lifetime, which preparation included careful US constitutional law study.
    - sympil 2y ago

sympil 2y ago

The most striking thing to me is that Elon was in the oval office answering questions. It’s hard to understand a President emasculating himself in such a public way. Elon’s kid was there too. It’s truly bizarre to see the lack of decorum and the brazen way Elon acted as if it were he in charge. Trump’s supporters at one time decried Obama wearing a tan suit.

jacquesm 2y ago
He was in charge.