Things Are Going From Bad To Worse For The Permanent Bureaucratic State

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

Thanks to DOGE and four wunderkind coders in Treasury’s basement, Americans learned this week that their government sent millions to fund a “DEI musical” in Ireland, a “transgender comic book” in Peru, electric vehicles in Vietnam, and an Anthony Fauci exhibit at the NIH Museum.

Faster than Ludicrous+ mode on a Tesla, the Trump admin’s new code bros are sifting through the financial ledger of America’s spending. Just 20 days in office and the new administration has saved the American taxpayer billions of dollars — exactly what Trump promised on the campaign trail. And as the president’s third week unfolded, news worsened for Democrats and America’s permanent bureaucratic state.

It seems the permanent bureaucracy borrowed the U.S.S.R.’s media playbook, funneling millions to left-wing news organizations such as The New York Times, Politico and Reuters. Evidently it wasn’t enough that a Republican in the newsrooms of our state-run media outlets, PBS and NPR, is rarer than a cogent sentence from Kamala.

Democrats, meanwhile, have decided that this Deathstar boondoggle of government spending at its worst is the hill they want to die on. Conservatives watched with glee as Rep. Maxine Waters, Sen. Chuck Schumer, et al, led the Charge of the Lightweight Brigade to USAID’s former headquarters. Cue dopey chant: “wE Will wiN!” (2025 update—no, you didn’t).

Before all the spending porn (as the great Louisiana wag, Senator John Kennedy dubbed it), Democrats’ opinion polls were in the gutter, with a disapproval rating of 57%.

Do the Dems think rushing to the barricades to defend out-of-control spending will earn them the respect and admiration of the American public? Expect their approval ratings to continue to sink like the Hindentanic.

USAID is just the beginning.

Wait until DOGE bites into the Department of Defense, which has never passed an audit.

In 2019 while on reserve duty at the Pentagon, I was thrown into yet another meeting chockablock with PowerPoint slides, so beloved by our military. This particular meeting was to cover the results of a service-wide audit. To summarize about 187 slides and 2 hours: we failed.

All the top brass in the room somberly listened to the auditors describe $5 billion worth of missing aircraft engines, leases for buildings and land that did not exist, accounting systems closer in age to the abacus than a modern spreadsheet, and miles of missing debits and credits.

As the most junior officer in the room, I kept quiet but closely studied the faces of my superiors. They too, kept quiet, only murmuring “next slide” as disaster after financial disaster was flashed across the screens.

My inner fiscal hawk prayed that the service chief would flip the table over and channel Col. Nathan “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH” Jessep. But he remained impassive and the meeting dissolved with a whimper and no plans for reform.

That night leaving D.C., I happened to bump into a very senior republican senator at Reagan National Airport and thought it my civic duty to share the (unclassified) events of earlier in the day. I told the venerable appropriator that the audit had revealed billions in waste, fraud, and abuse, and even suggested he should make a request to see the failed audit for himself.

(In the hindsight afforded by three years working in the U.S. Senate, I now know how utterly naive this moment was).

He paused a moment, then said, “Well, you know how these things are. That’s Washington for you.”

I felt sick at the time, which is likely the same feeling many Americans are having this week as they see the grift laid bare in our nation’s capital.

But the good news is that Trump and his DOGE team have restored the hope that government might be right-sized and returned to solid financial footing.

On Friday, when he was asked about the job Elon Musk is doing, the President remarked, “I think we’re going to be very close to balancing budgets for the first time for many years.”

What a tantalizing prospect — a government that spends within its means may truly bring about the golden age of America promised in the president’s inaugural address.

Morgan Murphy is military thought leader, former press secretary to the Secretary of Defense and national security advisor in the U.S. Senate.

Related Topics:#DailyCaller #ElonMusk #MorganMurphy BureaucraticState DOGE USAID USGovernmentSpending

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Argentina’s Javier Milei gives Elon Musk chainsaw

Published on February 21, 2025

Todayville

MxM News

Quick Hit:

Elon Musk made a dramatic appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday, wielding a chromed-out chainsaw gifted by Argentina’s President Javier Milei. The prop symbolized Musk’s commitment to slashing bureaucratic red tape through his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Key Details:

Musk received the chainsaw from Milei before his sit-down interview at CPAC in Maryland.
The chainsaw was engraved with Milei’s catchphrase, “Viva la libertad carajo!” which translates to “Long live freedom, Goddammit!”
Musk brandished the chainsaw on stage, declaring it the “chainsaw for bureaucracy” to a cheering conservative crowd.

Diving Deeper:

Argentina’s President Javier Milei presented the symbolic chainsaw to Elon Musk ahead of his interview at CPAC, reinforcing their shared vision of reducing governmental influence. The chainsaw, emblazoned with Milei’s signature slogan, was meant to represent Musk’s mission with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut waste, fraud, and abuse within federal agencies.

Musk enthusiastically accepted the gift and held it aloft, declaring it the “chainsaw for bureaucracy.” The bold gesture was well-received by the conservative audience, with Musk adding a simple yet effective rallying cry: “Chainsaw!” The theatrics were in line with his commitment to DOGE’s mission of downsizing federal bureaucracy, drawing inspiration from Milei’s aggressive government-cutting measures in Argentina.

Milei’s fiscal conservatism has gained international attention, influencing Musk’s approach to DOGE. The Argentine president’s radical budget cuts and advocacy for limited government resonate with Musk’s goals for the United States. By symbolically passing the chainsaw to Musk, Milei reinforced a partnership rooted in economic freedom and governmental reform.

Musk later posted a photo of himself with the chainsaw on his social media platform, X, captioning it, “This is a real picture,” underscoring his commitment to his bureaucratic overhaul agenda. The image quickly went viral, amplifying the message of aggressive government reform.

The bold display at CPAC not only solidified Musk’s role as a disruptor within the political landscape but also strengthened the ideological bond between Musk and Milei, signaling an international alliance against government inefficiency.

Business

Federal Heritage Minister recommends nearly doubling CBC funding and reducing accountability

Published on February 21, 2025

Todayville

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling for the CBC to be completely defunded in the wake of the federal Liberal government’s recommendation to nearly double the state broadcaster’s cost to taxpayers and hide its budget reporting.

“It is outrageous for the government to try to hide the cost of the CBC from the taxpayers who are paying its bills,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “This government is totally out touch if it thinks it can nearly double CBC’s cost to taxpayers and try to hide its costs.”

Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said the government should nearly double the amount of money the CBC takes from taxpayers every year.

The CBC will cost taxpayers about $1.4 billion this year.

“The average funding for public broadcasters in G7 countries is $62 per person, per year,” St-Onge said. “We need to aim closer to the middle ground, which is $62 per year per person.”

Canada’s population is about 41.5 million people. If the government funded the CBC the way the minister is recommending, the CBC would cost taxpayers about $2.5 billion per year.

That amount would cover the annual grocery bill of about 152,854 Canadian families.

St-Onge also recommended the annual taxpayer funding for the CBC be removed from the government budget report and instead be entrenched in government statutory appropriations.

“I propose that it be financed directly in the legislation instead of in the budget through statutory appropriation,” St-Onge said.

“Canadians have told this government that the CBC costs them too much money, that it is not accountable to taxpayers and they don’t watch it, and now the government wants to double down on all those problems,” said Kris Sims, CTF Alberta Director. “The CBC is an enormous waste of money and journalists should not be paid by the government.

“The CBC must be defunded.”