Donald Trump sparked a liberal crisis Tuesday night by telling Elon Musk to cut billions in government waste and naming anti-woke Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense.
Trump said Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will “dismantle” the $6.5 trillion federal government by co-leading the “Manhattan Project of our time”: the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
“The Office of Government Efficiency is off to a great start with divided leadership: two people to do the job of one,” wrote Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. “Yeah, this looks REALLY efficient.”
Another account added: “Haha, we’re all going to die, right? Great, great, great.”
Musk jumped on X to own libraries and commit to eliminating literally hundreds of federal government agencies.
Donald Trump sent liberals into crisis mode after naming Elon Musk to a new Department of Government Efficiency and Pete Hegseth as his new Secretary of Defense.
Musk posted a clip of his conversation with Tucker Carlson where he declared that the government’s largesse is so rampant that citizens won’t even notice it’s gone.
‘There are about 428 federal agencies. There are so many that people haven’t even heard of,” he told Carlson. “I think we should be able to get away with 99 agencies.”
Musk added in his Tuesday night post: “99 federal agencies is more than enough.”
That would leave 329 federal agencies in the crosshairs.
It was unclear which agencies Musk planned to cut, but he emphasized that the cut was not a “threat to democracy” but a “threat to bureaucracy,” adding that he would be open to suggestions.
“All actions of the Department of Government Efficiency will be published online for maximum transparency,” he wrote. ‘Any time the public thinks we’re cutting something important or not cutting something that’s wasteful, let us know!’
He also added that he will have a “leaderboard for the most incredibly stupid spend of your tax money.” This will be extremely tragic and extremely entertaining.’
Ramaswamy, another billionaire running for the Republican nomination, said in a post of his own that “We won’t do it gently, @ElonMusk.”
However, leftists raged against Musk and Ramaswamy by claiming that DOGE was not an official government department.
Alex Wagner called it “Orwellian” on MSNBC and blurted out, “Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk are being offered jobs in a fantasy football league.”
He was interviewing anti-Trump lawyer George Conway, who called it a “nonexistent department.”
“First of all, it’s not going to be a government department as I understand it and I think there are actually rules and statutes that apply,” he added.
On CNN, Jeffrey Toobin said large-scale government cuts have already been attempted and the boring details won’t please MAGA faithful.
‘If you want to get rid of part of a government department. If you want to change the structure of the Department of Education, the Department of the Interior, you have to follow all these steps,’ he stated.
“And whether they like it or not, these two entrepreneurs are going to have to start learning that and following it, and it will drive them crazy, and we’ll see how much they actually make,” Toobin added.
Pete Hegseth’s nomination as Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense sparked a tantrum among Democrats, including Warren, as more was revealed about his plans for the Defense Department.
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon (pictured left) lost his mind over a video he posted about the appointment, thinking it was a joke until he saw Trump’s statement, while Joy Reid on MSNBC (pictured on the right) seemed to laugh to avoid becoming hysterical when she read the news
Additionally, Pete Hegseth’s nomination as Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense sparked a tantrum among Democrats, including Warren.
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon lost his mind over a video he posted about the appointment, thinking it was a joke until he saw Trump’s statement.
‘When I saw it, I thought AP (Associated Press) must have been hacked. But Pete Hegseth? The weekend morning host on Fox News? Come on.’
Joy Reid on MSNBC seemed to laugh to keep from becoming hysterical when she read the news.
‘The former and future president is moving quickly to fill the clown car and complete his cabinet before changing his mind and firing them all. Moments ago Trump announced that he had selected Fox’s weekend morning host Pete Hegseth… because why not?
Dan Goldman, a Democratic congressman from New York, told CNN that Hegseth is “clearly a sycophantic cheerleader” for Trump.
‘I’m shocked, really. And this is exactly what we were worried about and warned about Donald Trump, that he is going to appoint unqualified loyalists to turn this government into his own personal fiefdom, and he is going to get back at the generals and put in essentially unqualified people,” he said. .
“Goldman added: I appreciate Mr. Hegseth’s service in our military, but being in the military does not qualify you to run the Department of Defense and have access to our nuclear weapons.”
Trump made the shocking announcement Tuesday night saying that Musk will co-lead the ‘Manhattan Project of our time’ with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
The 44-year-old deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and earned two Bronze Stars, then ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in Minnesota in 2012 before joining Fox News.
‘So, we’re replacing a former four-star general as Secretary of Defense with… the weekend co-host of Fox and Friends?’ Incredible. Just…wow,” wrote Chris D. Jackson, a Biden supporter.
Elizabeth Warren weighed in once again: ‘A weekend co-host of Fox & Friends is not qualified to be Secretary of Defense. I head the Senate military personnel panel. My three brothers served in uniform. I respect each of our service members. “The election of Donald Trump will make us less safe and must be rejected.”
While liberals were the most apoplectic, even some conservatives were taken aback by the nomination.
—From silly dinner interviews on Weekend Fox and Friends to Secretary of Defense? Former Fox & Friends co-star Gretchen Carlson wrote on X. “Yes, he’s a veteran…so?”
The reaction from Senate Republicans was a mix of confusion but also hopeful optimism.
‘Actually? I’d have to think about it,” Alabama’s Tommy Tuberville said.
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said, “Wow… I’m surprised because the names I’ve heard for Secretary of Defense don’t include him.”
North Carolina’s Ted Budd, however, called Hegseth “an impressive individual.”
Donald Trump sent liberals into crisis mode after appointing Elon Musk to a new Department of Government Efficiency
Hegseth also hinted at his plans for the office in an interview with Shawn Ryan, including eliminating what he called “woke shit” in the military.
Anyone “involved in woke bullshit has to go…that trust has to be reestablished by putting sensible fighters in those positions who are not going to cater to socially correct bullshit,” he said.
‘Young officers are not being trained to be baptized in this type of thinking. And then, you know, whatever the standards were, whatever the combat standards were, say, and, I don’t know, 1995, let’s just make those the standards;
He also suggested hiring the creators of Top Gun Maverick to create recruiting ads to “motivate people to want to serve.”
The 44-year-old deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and earned two Bronze Stars, then ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in Minnesota in 2012 before joining Fox News.
“Pete is tough, smart, and a true believer in America first,” Trump said in a statement, as he spent much of Tuesday expanding his Cabinet.
The appointment comes just hours after former Democratic congresswoman and Trump ally Tulsi Gabbard said she wanted the job.
“With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice: our military will be great again and America will never go backwards,” Trump added.
Trump is rolling out a steady stream of appointees and nominees for his next administration, working so far at a faster pace and without as much drama as in his first transition after his 2016 victory.
Hegseth, 44, co-hosts Fox News Channel’s ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ and has been with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show.
He is also the author of ‘The War Against Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.’
The book, according to its promotion, combines “his own war experiences, stories of outrage and an incisive look at how the chain of command became so twisted,” and bills itself as “the key to saving our warriors and winning future wars.” .’
While the Pentagon is considered a key and coveted position in any administration, Secretary of Defense was a tumultuous position during Trump’s first term.
Hegseth was an infantry captain in the Army National Guard and served overseas in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
He was previously head of Concerned Veterans for America, a group backed by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch.
If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises, ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and continued attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a ceasefire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and growing concerns about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea.