Perhaps the Message is the Message
There are two, irreconcilable accounts of what is happening in (and to) the U.S. federal government at this moment: One suggests that we are witnessing something like a coup, engineered by techno-authoritarian oligarchs who harbor some very silly and pernicious political ideas. They are now busy consolidating their wealth and power at the expense of American democracy. The other view suggests that some of the most competent people in our society are now struggling, at great personal sacrifice, to save America from economic ruin. Both views suggest that we are now in the hands of a new kind of leadership—elected and not—which, for better or worse, is very good at getting things done.
Watching the U.S. national debt climb toward $40T, it is easy enough to believe that we have a problem. It is also hard to find fault with the sentiment, recently expressed by President Trump and Elon Musk at a joint press conference in the Oval Office, that we should immediately cut all the “fraud, waste, and abuse” in the federal budget. It appears, however, that the Trump administration believes that it must break the law to do this.
President Trump says that he will appeal any lower court ruling that impedes the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Musk runs. Federal courts rely on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to enforce their orders. But the DOJ, being part of the executive branch, falls under the authority of the President. For this reason, as well as several others, many critics of the administration now worry that we are on the brink of a constitutional crisis.
It seems clear that DOGE has broken several laws—and many Americans are fine with that. Yesterday, a fan of the President helpfully reminded me that one can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs. As it happens, I was in an expansive mood: Could it be that the rule of law is one of the many broken eggs that will soon be served to us by Musk and friends as a delicious omelet of American renewal? Let’s push past our initial fears and imagine, what if it were so? How would we expect Musk and the team at DOGE to comport themselves if they were performing dangerous and heroic work on our behalf with the best of intentions?