Elon Musk appeared at President Donald Trump ’s first cabinet confluence of his second term Wednesday to talk about what the billionaire was doing with DOGE , the radical that ’s currently dismantling the federal government in an illegal powerplay that surround Congress . And while Musk repeated a line he ’s enunciate previously about how he would inevitably make mistakes while cutting trillions from the budget , there was another moment where he accidentally revealed he ’s unilaterally choose what gets fund or not .
“ I should say we will make misunderstanding . We wo n’t be perfect . But when we make mistakes , we ’ll prepare it very apace , ” Musk suppose .
The billionaire oligarch then give his example of a “ misunderstanding ” that was corrected , which was super revealing .
Elon Musk at the White House during a cabinet meeting on Feb. 26, 2025.Screenshot: White House / YouTube
“ So for example , with USAID , one of the things we unexpectedly scrub very briefly was Ebola prevention , ” Musk tell . “ I think we all want Ebola prevention . So we restored the Ebola prevention forthwith . And there was no interruption . But we do need to move quickly if we ’re to achieve a $ 1 trillion deficit reduction in financial year 2026 . ”
Whether he knows it or not , Musk was include that he was making the conclusion about what should get funding in a entirely arbitrary way . While it may seem obvious that Ebola prevention should be funded , he has n’t been elect or confirmed to make that decision . His mandate from President Trump as a “ limited government employee ” is on the face of it to root out waste , pretender , and ill-treatment . But everything DOGE has presented publicly to cut is just something Musk did n’t like , not something that was an illustration of waste , fraud , or insult .
Congress very famously has the mogul of the purse and created means like USAID to distribute foreign aid around the world . And if an unelected billionaire can just number in and decide what gets fund , that ’s but not the sound way of doing it .
What makes Musk ’s claims all the more galling is that at least one expert in the field of Ebola says the billionaire is n’t even accurately representing what come about . Craig Spencer , a doctor who works at Brown University School of Public Health and is an Ebola subsister , compose on Xabout how Musk was n’t really telling the accuracy about what happen now that fund have been drastically rationalize for public wellness .
“ On January 29 , Uganda reported an Ebola eruption . Normally the U.S. would ’ve very quickly sent one of our Ebola expert to help the answer . But this time , we did n’t . Because we could n’t . Because this administration would n’t let them go right when this irruption was declared , ” Spencer wrote .
“ And usually the U.S. would ’ve helped set up border screening and other measure on the earth , ” Spencer continue . “ But this prison term , we did n’t . Normally , we would ’ve spoke with the WHO about helping end the eruption . But this meter , we did n’t . Because CDC staff were n’t even allow to talk to them . ”
Spencer even order that a colleague in Uganda tried to call the White House about the eruption and was n’t capable to reach anyone .
“ You know who does ‘ Ebola bar ’ here in the U.S. ? The CDC , ” Spencerwrote . “ Hundreds of these frontline expert lose their jobs last week as part of indiscriminate ‘ monetary value saving ’ firings . More cut are expected . USAID has long bear out Ebola reply efforts overseas . Not no more . ”
So , it ’s NOT true to say ' one of things we by chance scratch very briefly was Ebola prevention ' and that it was quickly restored …
Because you ’ve hobbled or directly dismantled the response structures needed to terminate Ebola outbreak abroad and protect us here in the U.S.
— Craig Spencer MD MPH ( @Craig_A_Spencer)February 26 , 2025
Musk speak for about10 minutes , allot to a livestream onYouTube , and spill the beans about the ways in which Trump had recount him to be aggressive in fire people . It ’s indecipherable how many people have been laid off from the Union government so far , but probationary employees have been the first to be countenance go and the Associated Press reported on Wednesday plans have been drawn up to fire more byMarch 13 .
Aside from Musk , the cabinet meeting also touched on other matter , like Trump ’s plan to abandon the EB-5 visa in party favor of what he ’s call a “ gold card ” that would earmark someone who ’s unforced to make up $ 5 million to fundamentally buy a dark-green card to have effectual residence in the country .
Trump also take up his idea that Canada should become America ’s “ 51st res publica , ” an aggressively stupid threat against a long - clock time friend . The president also made the ludicrous claim that the European Union “ was formed to screw the United States . ”
Several suit have been impart against Musk and Trump for the way that they ’re currently destroying the federal regime . But it stay to be seen whether those causa will be deserving anything . Trump ’s Justice Department continually ignores royal court orders in “ brazen defiance ” of the rule of law . And since Union court do n’t have their own people with guns to impose the constabulary , Trump and his goons can just continue doing what they do .
DOGEDonald TrumpEbolaElon Musk
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