Elon Musk is igniting a fierce debate with moves at federal agencies | The Excerpt
On Monday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: Paste BN White House Reporter Zac Anderson discusses how Elon Musk is igniting a debate with moves at federal agencies. The Philadelphia Eagles prevent the Kansas City Chiefs' three-peat in the Super Bowl. Plus, Kendrick Lamar makes history at halftime. President Donald Trump prepares tariffs on steel and aluminum. Paste BN Senior National Political Correspondent Sarah D. Wire talks about some of the frustrations for federal employees amid a buyout offer. Advocates are stepping up for Black History Month as federal agencies scale back.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Monday, February 10th 2025. This is The Excerpt.
Today, we take a closer look at Elon Musk and his government blitz. Plus, we recap football's big night in New Orleans. And a hearing looms, surrounding a buyout offer for government employees.
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Elon Musk is quickly making a new name for himself as one of the most singular and polarizing figures of any presidential administration. I spoke with Paste BN White House reporter, Zac Anderson, for more.
Zac, always a treat having you on. How are you today?
Zac Anderson:
Doing great. Great to be here.
Taylor Wilson:
Great to have you as always. So let's just start with this. A lot has happened coming up on the what, three-week mark of this administration. What have been some of the big highlight moves involving Elon Musk?
Zac Anderson:
Elon Musk has been everywhere. In a lot of ways, he's really the central figure in Trump's presidency, other than Trump himself. This DOGE effort has gotten a ton of attention. It's been moving with lightning speed through a bunch of federal agencies. And making really shocking moves that we haven't seen in the past when it comes to government cost-cutting, where you're offering buyouts to every federal employee. You're moving to shut down an entire federal agency. These are just unprecedented things.
Taylor Wilson:
And in terms of pushback, Zac, what are we seeing? What do critics say? And how have the courts weighed in so far?
Zac Anderson:
Pretty intense pushback. This has really galvanized Democrats who didn't really seem to have a clear response to the second Trump administration. The so-called resistance was dormant. And they've really focused on Musk as what they view as an unaccountable behind-the-scenes boogeyman, who is pulling the strings here. And they've had protests, not just in D.C., but all over the country. You've seen activists gather to go after Musk and Trump. There's been some court cases. There's lawsuits that were filed regarding the effort to shut down the government's international aid agency. They're arguing that that's unconstitutional. Congress created USAID, and they argue that only Congress can shut it down. So there's constitutional separation of power questions here. And there was also a lawsuit that was brought over access that DOGE officials had to a sensitive payment system that's run by the Treasury Department that sends out payments to millions of people and handles trillions of dollars.
Taylor Wilson:
Zac, can you put DOGE, this is, of course, the Department of Government Efficiency, in a historical context for us? Have we seen anything like this before in the US?
Zac Anderson:
It's not unusual to have presidents come in and talk about cutting spending, making government more efficient. That's been a talking point for a long time. Really, it goes all the way back to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the New Deal in the 1930s, and during the Great Depression, where there was a big expansion of government. And there's been a backlash to that ever since. Ronald Reagan famously said that, "Government is the problem." Bill Clinton had a reinventing government efficiency type task force. This is not unusual at all. The way Musk is going about it, though, is highly unusual. And I've talked to historians and other experts who say, "We've seen nothing like this in the past."
Taylor Wilson:
Wow. All right. So where do we go from here, Zac? What's the next expectation from Musk's influence? I know there's something new seemingly every day out of this world.
Zac Anderson:
Well, I actually was just listening to a press conference that Trump had, where he was with the Prime Minister of Japan. And he was actually... A number of the questions were about Musk, which just shows you how much he's dominating the conversation, when even an event with the Japanese Prime Minister becomes a Musk Q&A. But Trump was asked, "What's going on with Musk?" And he said that his next targets are the Department of Education and the Pentagon. And that there's all sorts of other areas that he could go into.
Now, the Department of Education we knew about. There was already reporting that DOGE officials were digging in there. But the military, I haven't heard much about that. And it seems like that's an area. There's a lot of Republicans who are military hawks, who really support military spending. That could be an interesting area if they really start digging into it. But it's an area that could be fruitful. Over $800 billion are spent on defense funds, so there's a lot of potential cuts to be made there. But it does show that DOGE is going into all sorts of areas, and it seems like he's marching right through the government right now.
Taylor Wilson:
All right. This was a great step back piece. I really want the listeners to go check out the full version with a link in today's show notes. Zac Anderson covers the White House for Paste BN. Thank you, Zac.
Zac Anderson:
Thank you.
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Taylor Wilson:
The Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl champions. They took down the Kansas City Chiefs last night, 40 to 22, denying the Chiefs what would've been the first ever Super Bowl three-peat. The Eagles defense in particular came through with the team's six sacks, one off the Super Bowl record for most in the game. Still, it was Philadelphia's quarterback, Jalen Hurts, who won Super Bowl MVP. Meanwhile, Kendrick Lamar's halftime show marked the first time a solo rapper headlined the event. With Samuel L. Jackson clad in a full Uncle Sam outfit and top hat acting as a moderator, the rapper held a 13-minute performance. You can read more with a link in today's show notes.
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President Donald Trump continued voicing his trust in Elon Musk to root out federal waste, turning his attention next to the Departments of Education and Defense, in an exclusive interview with Fox News before the Super Bowl. Musk has been criticized for sending staffers to gather sensitive information at government agencies. His team was blocked temporarily in court from gaining access to secure systems at the Treasury Department. Trump said he disagreed with the judge's decision, and that he trusts Musk. Trump told reporters during his flight to the game that he would order 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum today. And he said Canada and Mexico must each do more to avoid 25% tariffs on imported goods that have been postponed for 30 days. More of the interview is set to air tonight. The move comes after Trump had previously promised tariffs on metals and other goods, like microchips and pharmaceuticals. Trump, on Friday, said he would impose reciprocal tariffs that would affect all countries.
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A hearing is set for today, surrounding the latest on a buyout offer for federal employees, and it's been a tense few days. I caught up with Paste BN Senior National Political Correspondent, Sarah D. Wire, to discuss some of the anxieties and frustrations that federal workers have been feeling, and how they approached their decisions on whether to accept the buyout.
Hello, Sarah.
Sarah D. Wire:
Hello.
Taylor Wilson:
So let's just start with this, Sarah. What's the latest on this buyout offer? And roughly, at the time you and I are talking, how many people have accepted it?
Sarah D. Wire:
So the buyout is part of Elon Musk's task force to streamline government agencies. The buyout itself says that if they voluntarily resign, they get eight months pay, including benefits. There have been some questions raised about whether it's illegal. Congress has not appropriated funds past March. Some of the people we spoke to are really worried about whether the administration can actually follow through on this promise. The last update we got on Friday, about 60,000 federal employees had taken this buyout. It is far below what the administration has said they wanted, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what the new numbers are today. It will be really interesting.
Taylor Wilson:
More than a dozen federal employees spoke with Paste BN on this. So let's start with Tony Yang, Sarah. Who is he, and what's driving his decision here?
Sarah D. Wire:
He works with the USDA in the IT department, and he really wanted to stay. He thought he was going to finish out and retire there. But he says that the hour and a half commute he would have back and forth is just not something that he can do at his age. So he's going to go ahead and retire now. It's going to cost him about $1,000 a month.
Taylor Wilson:
There's also Shane Poole. This is a military veteran who really seems to have been, I would say, disillusioned by all this. Is that fair to say, Sarah? How so? What did you hear from him?
Sarah D. Wire:
He, again, also really wants to stay. He's an Air Force veteran who now works on the civilian side in the Air Force in Utah. He's upset about how the administration is portraying people like him, calling them the enemy of the American people, calling them lazy, incompetent, low productivity. He doesn't want to leave either, but he feels, at this point, that he can't trust the administration or the government to have his back. It was hard to hear him say he can't trust them anymore, and to him, the bridge is burned. He really said that he plans to leave whether or not his resignation is accepted by the administration.
Taylor Wilson:
Wow, and that's someone who's spent his life committed to the military. What other anxieties or considerations, Sarah, did you hear from federal employees as they try to make this decision? Were there any common themes also across some of the folks you and Jessica spoke with for this piece?
Sarah D. Wire:
A lot of people were very concerned about whether the administration could honor the commitment. They're concerned about how loosely worded the buyout offer was. They were just told to respond to an email with the word, "Resign." And they weren't allowed to ask any questions in writing. Others were concerned about waiving the right to pursue legal or administrative action if the terms of the buyout aren't followed. But a lot of people really came down to just their personal lives and money. It's important to remember that 80% of federal employees do not live in the D.C. area. These are neighbors and people down the street. Every state has at least a few thousand federal workers there. They work in the VA, they work in the Park Service, the Postal Service. And to them, their biggest fears were paying the mortgage or their kids' college tuition. But we also heard from a lot of people who are worried that there might be layoffs or furloughs if not enough people take these resignations, and that they might be left with nothing as severance.
Taylor Wilson:
Well, in terms of what's next, Sarah, I know these folks got a few days extra here with this pause for the deadline.
Sarah D. Wire:
Yeah, there's a hearing where a judge will at least hear beginning arguments from both the labor unions who brought these cases on behalf of federal workers, and also the government. The Trump administration seems pretty confident. They told federal employees that the resignation offer has been extended until midnight on Monday.
Taylor Wilson:
Sarah D. Wire covers national politics for Paste BN. Thank you, Sarah.
Sarah D. Wire:
Thanks for having me.
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Taylor Wilson:
With some Black History Month activities being scaled back by the federal government, history and education organizations are ramping up efforts to fill the void. Karsonya Wise Whitehead, President of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History told Paste BN that you don't wait to be celebrated. We celebrate ourselves. She said she's been getting calls from concerned workers at state, local, and federal governments since President Trump issued several executive orders ending support for diversity and inclusion. And the Department of Defense issued a memo declaring identity months dead at DOD. Trump made a point of saluting Black History Month, and the contributions of some African-Americans, in a proclamation on January 31st, the eve of Black History Month. But Wise Whitehead said a proclamation isn't enough. And she and others worry that the administration set a damaging tone when he signed an executive order last month, rolling back diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across the government.
Still, some Trump supporters have said, singling out groups for identity month celebrations can be divisive. And new Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, said, in the January 31st memo, that his staff could not use official resources, including their time, to host events related to cultural awareness months, including Black History Month, Women's History Month, and National Disability Employment Awareness Month. You can read more with a link in today's show notes.
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Thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio. And if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, and I'll be back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from Paste BN.