Trump’s new 'White House Faith Office' pick claimed 'demonic' forces stole 2020 election

Alex Henderson, 

AlterNet
February 7, 2025 

The Rev. Paula White in Grapevine, Texas on June 11, 2021 (Gage Skidmore)

When President Donald Trump spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday morning, February 6, he attacked Democrats as anti-religion — claiming, "They oppose religion, they oppose God." Trump vowed to put a stop to attacks on Christianity, which he claims is facing an "anti-Christian bias."

In fact, former President Joe Biden and ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) are known for being devout Catholics. And Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) is a Baptist minister.

Trump announced the creation of a Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty. And the evangelical Rev. Paula White, Trump's longtime spiritual adviser, will head the new White House Faith Office.

MSNBC's Steve Benen examines White's history in a February 7 column, noting her role in Trump's "Stop the Steal" efforts after the 2020 election and her promotion of a controversial doctrine known as "the prosperity gospel."

The "prosperity gospel" claims that God rewards the faithful with material gains, but opponents of the doctrine consider it unbiblical — as parts of the Bible are highly critical of materialism. For example, Luke 18:25 in the New Testament quotes Jesus as saying, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And that concept is repeated in Matthew 19:24 as well as in the Koran (the holy book of Islam).

Benen notes, "In 2019, for example, White told her viewers that they had to support her ministry, even if they're struggling, or God would kill their dreams. The same week, White told viewers that some states have 'already passed' laws declaring the Christian Bible as 'hate speech,' which is why America needs Trump's judicial nominees to be confirmed. There are no such state laws."

In 2020, the MSNBC columnist recalls, White claimed that opposition to Trump's campaign was "demonic." And after he lost the election to Democrat Joe Biden, she held prayer services to keep Trump in the White House and insisted that "demonic confederacies" were trying to steal the election.

White was among the speakers at Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally on January 6, 2021, telling attendees that "every adversary" would "be overturned right now in the name of Jesus."

Benen observes, "It's not altogether clear what White's responsibilities will be leading the White House Faith Office, or whether she intends to accept a taxpayer-funded salary."

Steve Benen's full MSNBC column is available at this link.

'People Who Work for a Living' Rally at Labor Dept as DOGE Readies Latest Attack

"The people who keep our food and medicine safe know more about how to make government efficient than an outsider whose companies benefit from the very agencies he is infiltrating."


A person holds up a sign as they protest against U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in Washington, D.C. on February 5, 2025.
(Photo: Drew Angerer/AFP via Getty Images)

Julia Conley
Feb 05, 2025
COMMON DREAMS

As billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk set his sights on the U.S. Department of Labor in his wide-scale ransacking of the federal government, the largest federation of unions in the country made clear at a rally that Musk's Department of Government Efficiency isn't waging an attack on "waste" or bureaucracy—but on working people.

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) led labor unions and Democratic lawmakers in a gathering outside the Department of Labor (DOL), where employees were notified Tuesday that they would soon be ordered to turn over data to Musk's DOGE operatives, who will be staying at the agency for "an indeterminate period of time."

Those who don't comply, acting Labor Secretary Vince Micone said, could be fired.

At the rally, AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler announced the union's launch of the "Department of People Who Work for a Living"—a new campaign aimed at reporting on DOGE's attacks on working Americans through digital ads and public actions at the agencies Musk's advisory body is attempting to cut.

"Elon Musk and DOGE, they want us to think this is about efficiency, right?" said Shuler. "They want us to think the DOL is some bureaucracy that doesn't matter. That could not be further from the truth. This is about our health, our safety, our fair pay, our jobs, and these are the people who fight for us."

Musk was scheduled to have a "kickoff meeting" with DOL staffers on Wednesday, but Shuler noted that at the last minute, the in-person meeting was switched to a virtual one.

"And it's because you turned up the heat!" said Shuler. "You're making them feel it."



In a statement, Shuler added that "the government can work for billionaires or it can work for working people—but not both."

"We will hold DOGE and Elon Musk accountable because we are certain that the people who keep our food and medicine safe know more about how to make government efficient than an outsider whose companies benefit from the very agencies he is infiltrating," she said.

In recent days, DOGE has set up illegal servers in the Office of Personnel Management; taken control of Treasury Department payment system that contains personal data of millions of Americans who receive Social Security and Medicare benefits as well as other payments; placed nearly all U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees on administrative leave and attempted to dismantle the agency while attacking its aid initiatives around the globe; and begun a probe of Department of Education data as the Trump administration prepares to try to shut the agency down.

Musk's companies Tesla and SpaceX have faced multiple federal investigations, including by the DOL, into complaints of unfair labor practices, at least one workplace death, and failures to comply with protocols for protecting state secrets.

In addition to rallying at DOL, the AFL-CIO joined several national unions including the American Federation of Government Employees and Communications Workers of America in filing an injunction against Micone and DOGE, demanding a temporary restraining order to keep Musk and his employees out of the agency.

As In These Times reported, the legal filing warns that "failing to grant the injunction will result in DOGE's unqualified, unelected operatives having access to 'highly sensitive data,' including but not limited to medical and benefits information about all federal workers with worker compensation or black lung claims, the identities of vulnerable workers who have filed wage and hour or occupational safety complaints, and critical Bureau of Labor Statistics data."

At the rally, Shuler applauded workers for standing up in the face of Musk's attempted takeover of the federal government.

"No one voted for this undermining of our rights and that's why were standing up," said Shuler. "Look around. We have power and we're ready to use it!"

Fired NLRB Official Sues Trump Over 'Illegal and Unprecedented' Ouster


"The president's removal of Ms. Wilcox without even purporting to identify any neglect of duty or malfeasance, and without notice or a hearing, defies ninety years of Supreme Court precedent," according to the complaint.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks alongside newly confirmed Attorney General Pam Bondi during her swearing in ceremony in the Oval Office at the White House on February 05, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
(Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Eloise Goldsmith
Feb 05, 2025
COMMON DREAMS

Former Democratic National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox sued U.S. President Donald Trump in federal court Wednesday over her dismissal from the NLRB in late January.

Wilcox was first appointed to the body—which safeguards private sector workers' rights to organize—in 2021 by then-President Joe Biden and was re-confirmed for a five-year term by the Senate in 2023.

On January 28, Trump dismissed both Wilcox and NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, who, alongside Wilcox, helped strengthen workers' rights to form unions and went after employers it accused of undermining those rights. Given that Biden dismissed Trump's first-term NLRB general counsel on his first day in office, Abruzzo's firing was expected.

Wilcox's "unprecedented and illegal" firing—which was less expected than Abruzzo's—constitutes a "blatant violation" of the National Labor Relations Act, according to the complaint, which names both Trump and the acting chairman of the NLRB, Marvin Kaplan, as defendants. Wilcox is seeking an injunction against Kaplan, ordering him to reinstate her as a member of the board.

Under the National Labor Relations Act, the president can only remove board members in cases of "neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause" and only upon "notice and hearing," the filing states.

"The president's removal of Ms. Wilcox without even purporting to identify any neglect of duty or malfeasance, and without notice or a hearing, defies ninety years of Supreme Court precedent that has ensured the independence of critical government agencies like the Federal Reserve," Wilcox's attorney wrote.

The complaint points to a 1935 Supreme Court decision which restricted the president's power to remove members who perform perform quasi-legislative and judicial functions.

The complaint also notes that Wilcox's legal challenge is aimed at pushing back on a broader pattern of action by the Trump administration. Wilcox's dismissal is one of multiple "openly illegal firings" during Trump's first days back in the White House that appear "designed to test" Congress's ability to create independent agencies such as the NLRB, the complaint alleges.

"Although Ms. Wilcox has no desire to aid the president in establishing a test case, she is also cognizant of the fact that, if no challenge is made, the president will have effectively succeeded in rendering the NLRA's protections—and, by extension, that of other independent agencies—nugatory," wrote Wilcox's legal counsel.

The same day that Trump fired Wilcox and Abruzzo, he also dismissed two of the three Democrats on another independent federal body, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Wilcox's removal has also left the NLRB without a quorum, meaning it can't issue decisions on labor relations disputes.

Matt Bruenig, a labor lawyer who is also head of the People's Policy Project think tank, wrote in a blog post that the lawsuit sets up a constitutional challenge in which Trump will advocate for the removal of the section of the NLRA that offers removal protections to NLRB board members.

"The most likely outcome of all of this will be that the Supreme Court will rule that the removal protections in Section 3(a) of the NLRA are unconstitutional," Bruenig wrote.

"I don't think this ruling will matter all that much in the long run," he added, "but it will create delays and various headaches in the short run."

White House claims about USAID ripped apart by fact-checker: 'Only one claim was accurate'

Travis Gettys
February 7, 2025 
RAW STORY




Donald Trump's administration used nearly a dozen false or misleading claims to justify the dismantling of the nation's primary vehicle for delivering foreign aid, according to a new fact check.

The White House this week issued a statement titled, “At USAID, Waste and Abuse Runs Deep,” that alleged the U.S. Agency for International Development "funnels massive sums" of taxpayer funds to pay for "ridiculous — and, in many cases, malicious — pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats," but the Washington Post's Glenn Kessler said 11 of the 12 listed examples plucked from right-wing websites lacked context, at best, or were outright false.

"We examined these line items, as they have spread across social media," Kessler said. "By eliminating USAID’s website, the administration made harder to ascertain the details of some of these programs. But we determined that, as framed by the White House, only one claim — out of 12 — was accurate. After we highlighted key errors in the statement to the White House, we received a statement from spokeswoman Anna Kelly: 'This waste of taxpayer dollars underscores why the president paused foreign aid on day one to ensure it aligns with American interests.'"

Americans consistently and wildly overestimate how much the U.S. spends on foreign aid, which in reality is less than 1 percent of the federal budget, but a majority believe it's closer to 10 percent, and the White House and Elon Musk seemingly exploited that misconception to attack USAID.

"In fiscal year 2023, USAID was appropriated about $25 billion by Congress, according to foreignassistance.gov," Kessler said. "The website in recent days has been changed to combine USAID spending with foreign aid distributed by the State Department, so the combined total is nearly $39 billion. The White House identified only about $12 million in grants — one of which was $6 million — though one allegation vaguely claimed 'hundreds of millions of dollars.' Upon inspection, that turned out to be from 2005 to 2008."

The only White House claim with any basis in reality was one Kessler rated as "mostly accurate," which states that USAID provided $1.5 million to "advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities," which the fact checker said was funding for a called Grupa Izadji that's focused on creating opportunities for young LGBTQ people as part of the aid organization's goal of improving civil society in Serbia.

However, claims that USAID spent $70,000 for production of a "DEI musical" in Ireland, $2.5 million for electric vehicles in Vietnam, $47,000 for a "transgender opera" in Colombia, $32,000 for a "transgender comic book" in Peru and $6 million to fund tourism in Egypt were all rated as simply wrong.

Those claims either conflated USAID spending with State Department grants or misstated the purpose of the funding, and none of them made clear the strategic reasoning the organization was operating in the countries where those funds were spent.

The White House also claimed that USAID spent $2 million for sex changes and ‘LGBT activism’ in Guatemala, hundreds of thousands of dollars for a nonprofit linked to designated terrorist organizations and hundreds of thousands of meals that went to al-Qaeda-affiliated fighters in Syria, and paid to print "personalized" contraceptives birth control devices in developing countries – all of which Kessler said was misleading.

"As the article cited by the White House makes clear, investigators, including the USAID inspector general, discovered that the head of a nongovernmental organization diverted $9 million intended for Syrian civilians to combatant groups," Kessler said of the al-Qaeda claim. "He was charged in a 12-count indicted unsealed in November."

Another White House claim alleging that USAID gave "millions" to a lab in Wuhan, China, where some believe Covid-19 originated, was rated as lacking some context.

"Before the pandemic, up until 2019, USAID provided $1.1 million to EcoHealth Alliance, an environmental health nonprofit organization, via a subagreement on virus research," Kessler said. "USAID initially awarded a grant to the University of California at Davis to improve monitoring of zoonotic viruses with pandemic potential in African and Asian countries. UC-Davis then hired EcoHealth, which in turn contracted with Wuhan University and the Wuhan Institute of Virology, to collect biological samples from roughly 1,500 individuals in the Yunnan province with exposure to bats, other wildlife and domestic animals, according to the Government Accountability Office. The origin of the covid virus has still not been determined. In 2022, USAID awarded EcoHealth $4.7 million for a conservation project to improve farming practices in southwest Liberia — completely unrelated to virus research."

The White House also claimed USAID spent "hundreds of millions of dollars to fund ‘irrigation canals, farming equipment, and even fertilizer used to support the unprecedented poppy cultivation and heroin production in Afghanistan," but Kessler said that was false.

"USAID never intended to support opium poppy cultivation or the Taliban, and in fact the U.S. sought to stem it," Kessler wrote. "The White House cites a right-wing news site’s account of a 2018 report by the Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) — who President Donald Trump recently fired — that found that USAID efforts to fund alternative development projects during the George W. Bush administration (2005 to 2008) had failed. The Taliban before 2001 had successfully banned poppy cultivation, but the U.S. invasion led to a power vacuum that was exploited by poppy growers. USAID was the lead U.S. agency for implementing alternative development projects, modeled after a more successful effort in Colombia, but the report documented how conflicts among agencies and with allies hampered the effort. It’s a stretch to now, years later, accuse USAID of helping the Taliban."

'Trump slowdown': Critics hammer President for lackluster jobs report

Brad Reed
February 7, 2025

RAW STORY

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 04: Former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower on September 4, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by James Devaney/GC Images)

Numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday showed that the United States economy added just 143,000 jobs in January, which missed Wall Street expectations of 169,000 jobs.

Although most of the jobs data for the month came while Joe Biden was still the president, that didn't stop President Donald Trump's critics from pouncing on the disappointing number and predicting even worse numbers in the months ahead as Trump and X owner Elon Musk attempt to enact mass layoffs of the federal workforce.

"The Trump slowdown," commented Democratic strategist Matt McDermott on X.

"Trump was president for less than half of January," wrote designer Christopher Webb. "He’s brought economic uncertainty since day one."

Sirius XM radio host Dean Obeidallah echoed a similar theme on BlueSky and predicted that "with layoffs in federal government we can expect a spike in unemployment in coming months."

Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg, meanwhile, put the disappointing jobs report into the broader context of what he said would be destructive Trump economic policies.

"New jobs report one of the worst since COVID - 143,000 jobs created," he wrote on BlueSky Friday. "So far under Trump: - GDP growth has slowed - Job growth has slowed - Inflation has risen - Destructive tariffs loom - Fed did not cut interest rates - GOP econ plans will explode the deficit.

Trump inherits Biden’s ‘astonishing’ jobs legacy — but prices already soar on his watch

David Badash, 

The New Civil Rights Movement
February 7, 2025 


U.S. President Donald Trump sits at the Resolute Desk, where he signed executive orders during a brief event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

The January jobs report has been released, showing unemployment remaining near historic lows. As President Donald Trump takes over, he is inheriting what one noted economist is calling President Joe Biden’s “astonishing” and “beautiful” jobs record and labor market. But beyond employment figures, key benchmarks, such as the prices of essential goods like eggs, coffee, and gas, are drawing attention—leading some to wonder if last year will be remembered as the actual “golden age” for everyday consumers.

“In many respects, Donald Trump inherited the “golden age” he claims to be ushering in. All he really needs to do is not screw it up,” Reuters editor-at-large Mike Dolan wrote two days after Trump’s inauguration. “In economic and financial terms, the United States has rarely been in better health.”

But President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and economic policies, and his promised “mass deportations,” coupled with his efforts to slash the federal government workforce, could come with strong financial and even personal health costs to everyday Americans.

For the month of January, the unemployment rate dropped, from 4.1% to 4%.

“Except for January 1970, the unemployment rate is lower today than it was in *every single month* of the 1970s, 80s and 90s,” wrote portfolio manager Eddy Elfenbein. Professor of Economics Justin Wolfers, a frequent cable news guest, responded: “This is an astonishing (and beautiful) fact, and we really ought to celebrate it. The labor market is in terrific shape, and continuing to improve. If the economy continues its momentum (a big if, to be sure), the unemployment rate isn’t far from returning to its fifty year low.”


But according to The New York Times, the “fresh numbers suggest that the labor market may be losing momentum heading into the second administration of President Trump, whose policy agenda — including sharp cuts to federal payrolls and large-scale deportations of unauthorized migrants — could affect both employment and the availability of workers.”

During his campaign, President Trump vowed he would “immediately bring prices down, starting on day one.” That has not happened, and there is little to suggest he has made any tangible progress.

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture now says the price of eggs will likely jump by 20 percent in 2025,” Politico reported this week. “An executive order Trump signed in January placed deregulation at the center of his cost-cutting strategy.”

The White House has suggested Trump’s energy policies will also lead to dramatic price drops for families.

“President Trump is already taking bold action to drive down costs with his executive actions to unleash American energy, and he is working diligently with Secretary Brooke Rollins to address the price of eggs,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told Politico, the news outlet reported.

But the price of eggs is being directly impacted by a massive Bird Flu outbreak across the country, and it does not appear the Trump administration has taken steps to end it. Meanwhile, farmers have had to kill over 148 million birds, including chickens and ducks, to prevent the spread of the disease.

It could get worse.

“The White House is working on an executive order to fire thousands of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services workers, according to people familiar with the matter,” The Wall Street Journal reported in an exclusive on Thursday. “The job cuts under consideration would affect the Department of Health and Human Services, which employs more than 80,000 people and includes the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in addition to the FDA and CDC.”

“The agencies,” WSJ added, “are responsible for a range of functions, from approving new drugs to tracing bird-flu outbreaks and researching cancer. A loss of staff could affect the efforts depending on which workers are cut and whether they are concentrated in particular areas.”

Politico adds, “The White House has in recent days taken drastic steps to reorganize USAID and strip the embattled agency of its autonomy. USAID’s headquarters were closed Monday and Secretary of State Marco Rubio named its acting administrator. Trump doubled down on Tuesday, taking steps to put nearly all of the agency’s Washington-based staff on leave.”

“But shutting down an office that fights diseases worldwide will only mean prices stay high, Democrats argue.”

It appears the international health community is concerned.

“The US has the most cases of bird flu in humans globally,” the Financial Times reports. “Scientists have called for increased vaccination of farm workers and more efforts to stem the spread among farm animals as the H5N1 pathogen continues to infect cattle and chickens across the country.”

“It is arguably grossly irresponsible for the US authorities to allow such sustained high level of virus transmission in dairy cattle as this poses such a major threat to global human health,” Professor James Wood, an infectious diseases expert at the UK’s Cambridge University, told FT.

President Trump’s promise to lower the price of gas “on day one” has also not materialized.

“Amid the threat of tariffs, the national average for a gallon of gas ticked up two cents from last week to $3.13,” according to AAA on Thursday, which tracks gas prices.

In addition to Bird Flu and its impacts, there’s reason to believe food costs will continue to rise.

Bloomberg energy and commodities columnist Javier Blas reported Wednesday that “Wholesale Arabica coffee prices rise above $4 per lb in New York — an all-time high and more than double the level of a year ago.”

Blas says “just the threat” of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Colombia, the world’s third-largest coffee producer, “is enough to scare the market.”

And he’s predicting a “coffee inflation wave” for this year, and says retail coffee prices “are going to go up between 20% and 25% in the next few months.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

In Rousing Press Conference, Progressive Democrats Say It's Time to 'Fire Elon Musk'

"It's time for all of us to get off the mat and get back in the ring. We're going to fight smarter. We are going to fight harder," the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus said.

Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, chair of the of Congressional Progressive Caucus, speaks during a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center to oppose Elon Musk's influence over various federal agencies, on Thursday, February 6, 2025.
(Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Eloise Goldsmith
Feb 06, 2025
COMMON DREAMS


"We're here to say with one voice: Fire Elon Musk," said Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, kicking off a Congressional Progressive Caucus press conference on Thursday which brought some of the fighting spirit that Democrats have been accused of lacking in recent weeks.

Caucus members gave remarks denouncing billionaire and GOP megadonor Elon Musk, whose so-called Department of Government Efficiency has infiltrated multiple federal agencies with the aim of carrying out cuts to spending and personnel, for engaging in an "illegal power grab." Casar, who is the chair of the caucus, told reporters that they would use "every legislative, judicial, and public pressure tool at [their] disposal as members of Congress" in an effort to get rid of Musk.

"Many Democrats need a time to soul search, to grieve, to think, but that time has ended," Casar said. "It's time for all of us to get off the mat and get back in the ring. We're going to fight smarter. We are going to fight harder."




Musk and his associates at DOGE now have moved to exert influence over agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Education, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Treasury Department. The Wall Street Journalreported Wednesday that representatives at DOGE have also secured access to key payment and contracting systems at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and are "searching agency payment systems for fraud."

Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) called out House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for failing to have the "courage to stand up and defend the integrity of the legislative branch" in the face of Musk and Trump's broadsides against federal agencies, which in some cases appear illegal. "This is not only unethical, it is illegal and unconstitutional," she said.

Representatives of the caucus also said that there will be an attempt to pressure Republicans on the House Oversight Committee, which has a Republican majority, to join Democrats in subpoenaing Musk to come testify before the panel. Ranking member of the committee, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), brought a motion on Wednesday to subpoena Musk to testify before the committee which failed in a 20-19 vote along party lines, according to Politico.

"We only lost that vote by one vote," said Casar. "We just need to pressure, in that case, just one Republican to have a spine and be willing to hear from Elon Musk."

Meanwhile, the day before the press conference, over 100 civil society groups sent a letter to congressional leaders demanding that Congress immediately act to investigate the full extent of actions taken by Musk and representatives at DOGE.

The groups that signed the letter include the labor union SEIU, the environmental group Greenpeace USA, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and others.

"Millions of Americans are likely to be harmed if Elon Musk and DOGE are allowed to continue to infiltrate and take over critical government systems," the according to the letter, which says Congress should probe whether Musk and associates at DOGE have violated multiple temporary restraining orders issued by district courts in response to a late January memo from the Office of Management and Budget attempting to freeze funding for federal grants and other programs, among other concerns.

"What we have seen from Elon Musk and DOGE indicates an astounding disregard for the law," the letter concludes.

The Trump administration, Musk, and DOGE are facing resistance in court. Yesterday, the AFL-CIO and four unions filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against DOGE and acting Labor Secretary Vince Micone aimed at keeping DOGE out of the Department of Labor. Two unions and an advocacy group sued Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the Treasury Department on Monday for giving DOGE access to a sensitive payment system, citing privacy concerns.

Also Wednesday, thousands turned out for grassroots-organized, anti-Trump rallies around the United States.

Musk shields his finances as he hoards private data of millions of Americans: report

Travis Gettys
February 7, 2025 

RAW STORY

Elon Musk vowed "maximum transparency" in his government work but won't even share his financial disclosures, according to a new report.

The tech billionaire has been invited into President Donald Trump's administration to cut government spending and regulation with his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, but the White House will allow him to file a “confidential” financial disclosure" as an unpaid “special government employee," reported the Washington Post.

Special government employees who are paid at or below the level of federal employees with Senior Executive Service status, according to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, are not required to file a public financial disclosure report.

They may instead file a confidential report if they are expected to “have a substantial role in the formulation of agency policy," which so far Musk has done.

"As a special govt employee, Musk is limited to 130 days of work a year," noted journalist Natalie Alms. "A former White House ethics lawyer has told me that if Musk exceeds that, you can expect lawsuits to make this financial disclosure public."

A White House official told the post that Musk received an ethics briefing this week, and other DOGE staffers will do the same if they haven't already.

DOGE will also attempt to shield their work behind the Presidential Records Act, according to the group's adviser Katie Miller, which would keep their records sealed until 2034, five years after Trump leaves office and eight years after DOGE is scheduled to disband.

However, that claim will almost certainly face a legal challenge, and some observers noted his secrecy while his DOGE lackeys gain access to sensitive private data for federal employees and taxpayers and feed them into artificial intelligence models.

"So just to recap: Elon Musk has all of your personal confidential data," posted the co-executive director of the activist group Indivisible Guide. "And he will not be disclosing any of his information to the American people. One set of rules for Musk and Trump, one set of rules for the rest of us."

 

Elon Musk floats re-hiring self-proclaimed 'racist' DOGE aide fired for bigoted comments

Brad Reed
February 7, 2025

RAW STORY

X owner Elon Musk on Friday floated the possibility of bringing back Marko Elez, the racist former Department of Government Efficiency staff member who was fired after the Wall Street Journal exposed his past racist social media posts.

Writing on X Friday morning, Musk asked his followers if he should "Bring back DOGE staffer who made inappropriate statements via a now deleted pseudonym?" and then posted a poll to allow them give their input.

As of this writing, the overwhelming number of participants in the poll advised Musk to bring back his racist former staff member.

As the WSJ reported on Thursday, Elez made a number of racist posts pseudonymously that included recommendations to "normalize Indian hate" and boasts that "just for the record, I was racist before it was cool."

ALSO READ: 'Selfish, wasteful, and cruel': Ex-Republican slams Elon Musk's vision for government

Elez, a graduate of Rutgers University and an employee at Musk companies SpaceX and Starlink, left a trail of breadcrumbs that allowed the Journal to identify his use of a pseudonymous account.


"The deleted @nullllptr account previously went by the username @marko_elez, a review of archived posts shows,” the Journal revealed. “The user behind the @nullllptr also described themselves as an employee at SpaceX and Starlink, where Elez has worked, according to archives of Elez’s personal website.

'Your wife is Indian': J.D. Vance mocked for defending 'racist' anti-Indian DOGE staffer

Brad Reed
February 7, 2025 

U.S. Senator J.D. Vance speaks at a rally in Portage, Michigan, U.S. November 1, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

Vice President J.D. Vance was hit with immediate mockery on Friday after he defended Marko Elez, the recently fired Department of Government Efficiency staffer who was exposed for making racist comments earlier this week.

Writing on X, Vance argued that "I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life."

Vance added that "we shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people... so I say bring him back. If he’s a bad dude or a terrible member of the team, fire him for that."

Among Elez's "foolish" past social media posts were declarations to "normalize Indian hate," which in theory should be of particular interest to Vance given that his wife, Usha Vance, is the daughter of Indian immigrants.

Given this, many of Vance's followers on social media wondered what Usha thought of him defending someone who says that he hates her and her family.

"The VP of the United States says it’s worse to be a journalist shining a light on racist behavior than it is to say racist things," wrote journalist Ryan Satin. "Insane. This man has an Indian wife and children, and doesn’t even have the balls to stand up against racism towards them. What a bad husband and dad."

"Elez wanted to normalize Indian hate, you’re standing up for him, and your wife is Indian," commented another of Vance's followers. "Usha deserves way better bro."

"Defending the kid who called for normalizing 'Indian hate' how does this dude go home and look his wife and kids in the face," wondered Kevin Saucedo-Broach.

Other followers took issue with Vance describing the 25-year-old Enez as a "kid," particularly when the Trump administration gave him access to some of the most sensitive data collected by the United States federal government.

"So he's a racist kid with no impulse control, but he should have access to the system that doles out trillions of dollars of the federal budget and see all of our personal information," wrote journalist Emily Singer.

The Bulwark's Sam Stein, meanwhile, expressed bewilderment that Vance was acting more like a spectator on social media rather than someone who had influence within the administration.

"I'm having trouble following this," he wrote on Friday. "If they all want the guy who made racist tweets to have remained on staff then who decided to let him go in the first place? No one forced them to fire the guy."

 

US Lawmakers Rip Trump's Plan to Destroy Department of Education

"We will not stand by and allow the impact that dismantling the Department of Education would have on the nation's students, parents, borrowers, educators, and communities."


U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as Linda McMahon—who then led the Small Business Administration—looks on during an October 17, 2018 Cabinet meeting in the White House in Washington, D.C.
(Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)


Brett Wilkins
Feb 06, 2025
COMMON DREAMS

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday led five members of Congress in a warning against the Trump administration's plan to "unilaterally dismantle" the Department of Education and demanded answers from the acting head of the agency about recent moves "to put federal workers on administrative leave, coerce employees into leaving their jobs, provide access to students' sensitive data, and illegally freeze vital funding."

"Over the course of two weeks, the Trump administration issued sweeping executive orders and sought to broadly and illegally freeze federal financial assistance," the lawmakers—Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.)—wrote in a letter to acting Education Secretary Denise Carter.

"Federal employees have been targeted, in some cases for simply following the law. Elon Musk is attempting to shut down the work of entire agencies while gaining access to some of the federal government's most far-reaching and sensitive data systems. Media reports indicate a similar effort may be underway at the Department of Education," the lawmakers noted.

The letter continues:
The Department [of Education] has been a target of President [Donald] Trump and his unelected advisers since even prior to his inauguration. And recently, the department has put workers on administrative leave for attending trainings promoted by former Secretary Betsy DeVos, once touted among results achieved by the department, and coerced employees into leaving their jobs. Workers at the department—like those across the government—have been made to fear their jobs will be reclassified so that they lose employment protections. Some staff from the entity referred to as the Department of Government Efficiency have reportedly gained access to internal department data systems, including financial aid systems that include personally identifiable information on millions of students. These actions appear to be part of a broader plan to dismantle the federal government until it is unable to function and meet the needs of the American people.

"We will not stand by and allow this to happen to the nation's students, parents, borrowers, educators, and communities," the lawmakers stressed. "Congress created the department to ensure all students in America have equal access to a high-quality education and that their civil rights are protected no matter their ZIP code."

"We urge you to provide information on the steps the department is taking to ensure the continuity of programs that Americans depend on, the ability of the department to effectively administer programs for their intended purposes without waste, fraud, and abuse, and the safeguards in place to protect student data privacy," the legislators added.

Specifically, the letter asks for a list of officials "who have been granted access to personally identifiable or sensitive information," an "explanation of all steps the department has taken to protect" such data, the names of "all individuals placed on administrative leave or terminated" since Trump took office and all department communications to such employees, and confirmation that the department "has not frozen, paused, impeded, blocked, canceled, or terminated any awards or obligations since January 20."

The lawmakers' letter came on the same day that nearly 100 Democratic members of the House of Representatives wrote to Carter requesting a meeting to discuss "reports that the Trump administration has plans to illegally dismantle or drastically reduce" the Department of Education via executive order.

Both letters came ahead of next week's scheduled Senate confirmation hearing for Linda McMahon, a top fundraiser for Trump's campaign whom the president subsequently nominated for education secretary. McMahon—a billionaire who led the Small Business Administration during Trump's first term—is expected to face tough questions from Democratic senators about what one campaigner called her "documented history of enabling sexual abuse of children and sweeping sexual violence under the rug" during her tenure as World Wrestling Entertainment CEO.

The very future of the Department of Education is uncertain, as Trump has repeatedly vowed to abolish the agency, which was established during the administration of President Jimmy Carter in 1979.

"I told Linda, 'Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job,'" Trump quipped earlier this week.

A funny thing happened on the way to closing the Department of Education

Julia Steiny, Rhode Island Current
February 7, 2025 


A view of the U.S. Department of Education building in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 1, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon

The Trump administration continued its head-scratching appointments by anointing billionaire Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education — even though he had campaigned on a pledge to abolish the department. The president has expressed his hope that McMahon would eventually “put herself out of a job.”

She has been part of the president’s inner political circle, but is best known as president and co-founder, with her husband, of World Wrestling Entertainment. McMahon used to be a wrestler herself. Her only K-12 experience was a brief stint on the Connecticut Board of Education, although she feels wrestling showed her what all students should learn about respect, leadership and such.

But then – surprise! – the deputy education secretary spot went to Penny Schwinn, who is far more famous to the likes of us education writers. Schwinn’s deep, impressive bona fides include becoming a teacher through Teach for America, followed by service as a classroom history teacher, school principal and then a swift ride up high-level administrative posts in various states including Texas. In 2019, at 43, she became Tennessee’s Commissioner of Education.

In Education Next’s extended interview, Schwinn emphasizes that educators must aim every single decision not merely toward achievement, but toward the best interests of kids. This “North Star” helps her to sift through irrelevant political chaff so she can stay with her agenda even in the face of constant opposition.

“That is always going to be personal and emotional; however, we must find a way to engage in hard conversations without taking them personally,” she said.

Schwinn’s biggest claim to fame was an all-hands-on-deck initiative designed to shift reading instruction from the terrible 3-cueing system that teaches kids to guess words, to one that is science-based. At the time, COVID raged. But for her, reading is a “nonnegotiable goal.” In a mere two years, Tennessee’s third graders improved by eight percentage points on their state reading assessment. The state has just under 1 million K-12 students, with 74,000 third graders, so eight points is a big average jump for a cohort that size.

Furthermore, the just released 2022 NAEPs showed Tennessee with a slight increase while most all other states’ results declined to varying degrees. (Rhode Island’s scores declined by three percentage points.) Tennessee also did well in math, which can be a side benefit of helping kids unpack word problems and written directions.

When first appointed, Schwinn turned to Carey Wright, the education commissioner who pulled off what is known as the “Mississippi miracle,” a show-stopping leap from Mississippi’s frequent dead last ranking to becoming the only state that didn’t tank in the 2019 national NAEP reading test.

Last summer, Wright and Schwinn wrote an op-ed for The74 begging political leaders to listen to what the research is saying about learning, especially reading. They note that in the late 1990s, the feds poured $9 billion into excellent research, which then went largely ignored. Their dedication to data-driven decisions means Schwinn wants to beef up federal research, not shut it down. (Yes, I know the feds are angling to shutter the Department of Education. But why would she take the job if that were really the goal?)



I’m hard pressed to think of another current politician or education leader with such credible dedication to kids, no matter what.

What really wins my heart are leaders who can change their minds with the right evidence and articulate reasons to make the change.

For example, in 2021, true to the Republican playbook, the Tennessee Legislature passed a law mandating holding back third graders who did not pass a reading proficiency test. Without apparent appetite, Schwinn acknowledged it was her job to implement state laws. While punishing third graders did boost scores in some states, the long-term effects of removing 9-year-olds from their age and friend cohort is almost never good. Schwin did not fight the law, but her “Reading 360” initiative did reduce the vast numbers of retained kids. It opened many pathways to the fourth grade including intensive tutoring, after-school and summer reading camps, allowing families to agree to intervention during fourth grade, and more.

Also, to help kids from the educational get-go, she established the only national teacher apprenticeship program designed to drag higher education’s butt into the 21st century with preparation driven by current research and contemporary children.

Mind you, Schwinn is far from everyone’s cup of tea. She’s a Republican. But that’s hard to tell from the totality of her actions. Her work has infuriated both the orthodox left and right.

Eventually, for example, her efforts to sidestep the culture wars proved to be too obstructive to stay focused on the work. In 2023, Tennessee passed a law designed to scrub curricula of information about race and gender. Again, Schwinn said she’d honor state law. But no hardliner, her directive to the field was to “limit” such discussions, enraging culture warriors on both sides of the aisle. In the end, her efforts got swallowed up in those unproductive battles, so she quit that summer.

Did the president’s vetters know what they were getting into? The two appointments to the federal DOE seem like a contradiction in terms — a wrecking ball and a design-build contractor. But Schwinn doesn’t seem like the kind of woman to put her North Star away, so she must have been convinced she could do real work.

Of course, we’ll see. The best interests of the kids could use a true champion. Good luck, Deputy.