POLITICS
Trump and Musk’s cull on alleged federal bureaucracy
February 12, 2025 - President Trump and arch-ally Elon Musk are systematically culling staff in numerous U.S. government agencies, including those that had been investigating them personally and their business interests.
Related Graphics
View More
Trump tariffs crash markets as sell-off gathers steam
U.S. federal spending rises despite Musk’s DOGE cuts
Centre-right party springs surprise in Greenland elections
Mark Carney wins Liberal leadership by landslide
Trump tariffs are trying to reduce U.S. trade deficit
Trump’s new tariffs will be effective from March 4
Zelensky to meet Trump for preliminary minerals deal
Cost of rebuilding Ukraine now more than half a trillion dollars
Germany’s conservatives celebrate election victory
Trump’s policies meet with underwhelming poll results
Conservatives win German election
Musk wealth soars after U.S. election
Trump signs record number of executive orders in first month
Virtually all of Trump’s cabinet picks are millionaires
Voting intentions in German federal election
U.S. slips to new low in international corruption index
Marriages in China plunged a record 20% last year
Trump threatens to cut aid to Jordan, Egypt if they refute Gaza relocation
Trump to dismantle USAID
Meddling Musk sees Tesla sales crash and burn in Europe
Trump to send “worst criminal” migrants to Guantanamo Bay
Doomsday clock edges to 89 seconds to midnight
Trump’s freeze on foreign aid rings alarm bells across globe
85% of Greenlanders do not want to be part of U.S.
Latin America grapples with U.S. deportations
German parties address immigration
Trump steps up crackdown on immigration
Trump’s pullout order could leave WHO budget tightened
Trump weighing 10% tariff on China trade imports
Trump issues sweeping pardons and commutations for Jan 6 rioters
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, are systematically gutting federal agencies in a bid to reduce bureaucracy – often defying legal limits in the process.
Among Trump’s targets are January 6 Capitol Riot investigators and those sanctioned to investigate him.
Similarly, Musk is laying waste to agencies that had been investigating his own companies, such as SpaceX.
To date, Trump and Musk have sacked at least 33 workers from the Justice Department and FBI alone, with thousands of other jobs eradicated or in jeopardy.
Judges have temporarily halted some of the administration’s efforts, but many more staff reductions are expected across government departments in the months ahead.
DOGE, formed by one of President Trumps numerous executive orders, has a mandate to operate until July 4, 2026.