[SV_BubbleTime]

I get the ideologues here being mad… but I don’t get mad to the point where people need to pretend this guy isn’t highly intelligent. Doesn’t it make it better that there are really sharp people on the “DOGE” team.

Shouldn’t people be more mad at dummies doing it?

[xhevahir]

It's good that smart people are involved if we take it at face value that they're trying increase "government efficiency," as opposed to, say, dismantling the welfare and regulatory state; if the latter are their aim, and if we don't want them to accomplish such a goal, we should not be cheered to learn that they're such clever lads.

[generalizations]

> dismantling the welfare and regulatory state

Pretty sure that's exactly what the US voted for in the last election, considering that was pretty explicitly promised. I think most of the US is cheering them on as they do it.

[seanmcdirmid]

That's what 49.8% of the voters voted for. So not really "most" for any reasonable meaning of the term "most".

[briandear]

People don’t elect presidents, states do, and states elected Trump with a 312 to 226 electoral vote margin — so the states overwhelmingly voted for Trump. The purpose of the United States federal government is very strictly spelled out — and the 10th amendment makes it very clear that powers not expressly mentioned in the Constitution are reserved for the states. The U.S. is a republic, not a democracy.

[seanmcdirmid]

Electoral votes don’t support a president’s agenda, people do. Being underwater already at the beginning of his term means the other politicians that have to work with him (who also have to get elected) are more under pressure not to. That’s why not having the support of most voters is relevant in Trump getting things done. Grand parent basically said this guy has a mandate from the American people and he really doesn’t. Heck, it was big news that his disapproval rating is almost the same as his approval rating now, the most popular he has ever been but still not liked by most Americans.

[SV_BubbleTime]

Trump‘s popularity is currently polling higher than it ever has. 53% according to CBS which has never once overestimated in Trump’s favor.

He is more popular now than any point in his first term.

[tasty_freeze]

Trump won by a very small margin, 1.5%, and didn't even get 50% of the popular vote. It isn't a "landslide" or "mandate" no matter how many times they claim it. Yes, Trump won, but that isn't grounds for ignoring the constitution. There is a separation of powers and Trump can't delegate powers which aren't his to Musk to delegate to technoboys.

[klipt]

Unfortunately the only leverage Congress has to stop Executive overreach is impeachment.

If they refuse to impeach, then they are tacitly handing the Executive ever more power, essentially moving us from a republic to an elected dictatorship.

And given that the GOP has a majority, no matter how slim, it seems very unlikely they will impeach.

[HPsquared]

The executive branch systematically dismantling itself doesn't sound like "ever more power".

[saulpw]

It is if they are dismantling the pieces for their own benefit. Removing power from the institution and giving it to themselves.

[klipt]

If Congress already passed a law to regulate food so customers don't get poisoned.

And the president can say "I'm gonna ignore that and dismantle the agency Congress set up to do it"

What power does Congress have anymore?

[briandear]

312 to 226 isn’t a “small margin.”

You don’t measure a baseball game by number of hits or strike outs, but by the number of runs scored. The popular vote is literally irrelevant.

[tzs]

The assertion was about what the population supports. For that question it is the popular vote that matters, not the electoral college vote.

[carefulfungi]

Why do MAGA conservatives cheer the over-turning of Chevron, dramatically limiting the executive branch's power to interpret law, while also simultaneously cheering Trump's initiative to seize Congress's power of the purse?

What's the internal logic that rationalizes executive regulatory power being unconstitutional with a legal presidential power to unilaterally ignore Congress's funding allocations?

[b112]

Most Americans, whether on the left or right, have no real idea how government works, what branch has what powers, and more importantly why.

They have no understanding of history, of how important such separation of power are.

In such context, it is easy to see the logic. They have no idea the relevance, only that their team likes the outcome.

[ryeights]

Who is saying he isn’t intelligent? And can’t smart people do bad things?

[SV_BubbleTime]

Are things you disagree with bad by definition or assumption? Or because you were told… because unless you have a front row seat, everything you know is because someone else already parsed that info for you.

[pavel_lishin]

> unless you have a front row seat, everything you know is because someone else already parsed that info for you.

Taking this to its logical conclusion, it is pointless for us to discuss anything we're not actively doing.

[SV_BubbleTime]

Interesting idea.

Perhaps you could also investigate the motivation of the people who tell you how to feel and what to think?

Along those lines… how many were receiving say, USAID themselves?

[pavel_lishin]

I'm not sure who you're having a conversation with, but I don't think it's me.

[briandear]

What’s bad about finding waste? Many appropriations are expired yet still keep getting paid out. That’s crazy.

The liberal media echo chamber is preventing people from using common sense. When media and congressional democrats literally call us “Nazis” — it’s hard to take any of it seriously.

“Trump is a fascist”

If that’s true, he’s the first fascist in history to attempt to make the government smaller.

Apparently being interested in free speech and smaller government and reducing waste, fraud, and abuse is fascism.

The people screaming loudest about USAID for example huge hypocrites, or have a very short memory: https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/press-release/icymi-washing...

https://x.com/tracking_doge/status/1888032469699498379?s=46

[Moomoomoo309]

The problem with it is that if you're claiming Musk gives a rat's ass about free speech, there are many, many examples that disprove it. He has literally banned people on X or taken away their checkmarks or added checkmarks to people because he didn't like what they had to say. He's not a free speech absolutist, he constantly censors people who say things he doesn't like.

In theory, DOGE isn't a bad idea, but you look at the implementation, and you look at the moves Musk has made to remove his enemies from their positions, and you look at the things they won't touch - their goals align more with making the billionaire class richer than anything relating to free speech or reducing waste. Musk lies constantly, with and without reason. I personally think he's so used to it, he can't help lying at this point.

[atombender]

People are upset partly because the new administration is taking the law into its own hands, and partly because it seems to be acting without any planning or research, and seems to be going about it recklessly and without concern for consequences.

Regarding USAID specifically, it was set up in the aftermath of the Foreign Assistance Act by John F. Kennedy, and as an agency it was later established as law by Congress. Trump cannot legally shut down USAID without another act of Congress, and he cannot legally redirect its funds, which have already been appropriated. The administration is well within their right to change how the funds are allocated, but so far the stated intention has been to shut off all foreign aid, not change what aid is provided.

The fact that Warren Christopher etc. wanted to get rid of USAID 27 years ago is irrelevant, since that plan was never adopted and did not call for shutting off foreign aid, so it's not comparable. It's just misdirection.

It's also difficult to take arguments for "government waste" seriously in the case of USAID. First, the agency has a tiny budget of around $50B (2023), 16x less than Medicare, or around 0.8% of the entire state budget. Secondly, it was explicitly set up to give away money. Waste is its raison d'etre! Reports show its admin overhead being around 7.7%, which is very low for an aid organization.

It's pretty clear that USAID isn't cut because of waste, but because the Trump administration wants to stop giving aid to poor foreign countries. However, they're not so inclined to say that out loud.

It's also a self-own because USAID is an important soft power tool. It's one of the ways the US can project a positive image on the world, something it has been very good at since the post-war period.

[SV_BubbleTime]

Trump is clearly not shutting USAID down.

He has cut the staff from 1400 to 300. And it will now be serving US interests.

No need to panic now.

[atombender]

From more than 14,000 to around 290, according to several sources, including Atul Gawande [1].

The administration has now shut down CFPB (also illegally, I believe) [2], an agency that has done nothing but good for the average American.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/us/politics/usaid-job-cut...

[2] https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/vought-moves-to-defan...

[flir]

I'm not mad I'm just disappointed.

So much potential and he dropped out of school to become a Thiel/Musk minion.