How are the cuts affecting the US government apparatus?
In appointing billionaire Elon Musk head of the new Department of Government Efficiency, Donald Trump has entrusted him with streamlining the US government. Musk's team has gained access to confidential data on US citizens and reportedly already fired more than 40,000 public servants. The goal is to reduce government spending by two trillion dollars and end the alleged waste of funds on projects such as gender equality.
The unofficial police force of a tycoon
El País wonders who gave Musk's department the authority to take these actions:
“The spearhead of this anti-democratic attack is an organism that acts like an unofficial police force in the name of the president without ever having been subject to parliamentary scrutiny. We're talking about the Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk. ... The tycoon is ruthlessly interfering with US government agencies and ministries. ... In the face of this wave, the EU will have to remind the world that its strength lies as much in its trading power as in its defence of the welfare state and the rule of law.”
X-ing the administration
Público is alarmed:
“Even scarier than the drive to destroy international rules and institutions under the 'America first' motto is the speed with which the Trump administration is destroying American democracy itself. Elon Musk, who was neither elected nor legitimised by Congress for anything, has been tasked with destroying the central administration, and he's doing so with the same 'determination' with which he fired 80 percent of the employees of social network Twitter when he bought it and turned it into X. He thinks he owns everything. And he has Trump's full backing.”
Government must be kept in check
The Times applauds Trump for wanting to make the state apparatus leaner and more efficient:
“The fundamental problem of government is that, unrestrained, it tends to grow. The discipline which competition forces on the private sector does not apply to the state. If a company's workforce rises and its productivity doesn't, it risks going out of business. If the same happens in government, nobody will notice for a while, and the people responsible will probably be out of power before they're held to account.”
A familiar scenario for Hungarians
Péter Uj, editor-in-chief of 444, has a sense of déjà vu:
“Hungarian citizens have probably noticied many familiar images in the US news in recent days, such as attempts to take over institutions that are legally independent and outside the president's jurisdiction, and smear campaigns. ... There's not even any attempt to make it seem credible, it's enough if your own camp goes along with it. In any event the opponents are frightened, and the noisy and aggressive fans and propaganda are making them even more scared. Those under attack have no real way of defending themselves. Lawsuits may begin a few months from now, and after years they may even win, but by then everything will have been lost.”