onfocus

Although Trump and Musk insist they are fighting fraud, they have not yet provided evidence for their sweeping claims. Although they demand transparency, Musk conceals his own conflicts of interest. Although they do say they want efficiency, Musk has made no attempt to professionally audit or even understand many of the programs being cut. Although they say they want to cut costs, the programs they are attacking represent a tiny fraction of the U.S. budget. The only thing these policies will certainly do, and are clearly designed to do, is alter the behavior and values of the civil service. Suddenly, and not accidentally, people who work for the American federal government are having the same experience as people who find themselves living under foreign occupation.

This is a demolition, not a restructuring.

I tell ya, I’m tryin’, dear friends. I’m struggling here not to engage in hyperbole. But I don’t know what else to call these people besides political commissars. And again, they report to Elon Musk. He’s already very clearly operating here as an independent actor whose actions the President blesses after he’s found out what’s happened. This is a parallel overlaying of authority over the entire structure of the U.S. government.

At least he got a security clearance and was approved by congress. Oh wait.

“It’s a shit show,“ says Dr. Jeff Jensen, vice chair of research in obstetrics and gynecology at the OHSU School of Medicine. “But it’s that way by intention. They are doing it to destabilize everyone who didn’t vote for them. People will lose jobs.”

OHSU is a fantastic organization that does important work for humans regardless of party affiliation. It’s painful to watch them (and every research institution) being attacked for the lulz.

A stunning 54% of Americans now believe we’re in a Constitutional crisis, according to recent YouGov polling. They’re right.

It’s not going well for Uncle Sam.

It has been three weeks since Inauguration Day. Most Americans recognize that newly elected leaders bring change. That is expected. But most Americans also expect that changes will take place in accordance with the rule of law and in an orderly manner that respects the lives of affected individuals and the work they have been asked to perform.

Just a completely normal statement from the American Bar Association advocating for the rule of law. Very precedented.

Nichols noted that despite Trump’s claim of massive “corruption and fraud” in the agency, government lawyers had no support for that argument in court. Aside from that assertion, the judge said, the administration was unable to explain “what harm would befall the government if it could not immediately place on administrative leave the more than 2000 employees in question.”

It’s interesting to see what shows up in court vs press conferences. Lawyers are still hesitant to present false evidence in court.

"This is terrible, these families are the most at risk, the most vulnerable across our state, and they depend on us for many services," said Morrison-Frichtl. "For some of our children, we meet two-thirds of their nutritional needs each day. Families depend on us to get to their job, to have their child in a safe, educational, caring place."

The suffering is what people voted for. No, I don't really think everyone voted for this level of suffering.

Based on what has been reported, DOGE representatives have obtained or requested access to certain systems at the U.S. Treasury, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Personnel Management, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with eyes toward others, including the Federal Aviation Administration. “This is the largest data breach and the largest IT security breach in our country’s history—at least that’s publicly known,” one contractor who has worked on classified information-security systems at numerous government agencies told us this week. “You can’t un-ring this bell. Once these DOGE guys have access to these data systems, they can ostensibly do with it what they want.”

Republicans are a criminal organization. There's no other way to look at it.

An intelligence team within the department recommended stripping DOGE staffers of their access to data immediately.

What happens when the people who are supposed to enforce the law are breaking it?

After years of screaming “save the children” while baselessly accusing others of exploiting kids, the Trump administration is now trying to destroy the actual infrastructure that saves children. This one crosses from standard MAGA hypocrisy into genuinely evil territory.

There is no moral philosophy backing Republican actions—it’s only grabbing power by any means that works.

They weren’t warning readers to amuse them. They were warning readers that someday they would need to be prepared to act fast.

What would you do if you knew censorship was on the way?

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment isn’t just about individual rights—it’s a fundamental guarantee that the government will treat all persons and entities equally under the law. When someone with Musk’s level of government access and influence starts making threats against competitors, we have to ask: Are we still operating in a system where all companies have equal protection and opportunity under the law?

This is a lot. But a lot is happening—worth the read.