This Week in Democracy – Week 3: Shadow President Elon Musk in Full Control
Zeteo's new project to document the ongoing, week-by-week growth of authoritarianism in the Trump second term.
Another week. Another long list of ways the Trump-Musk-Vance administration attacked America’s democratic and constitutional order.
Here is Zeteo’s breakdown of just some of the actions – over 50 items and counting – President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their allies took this week that weaken democracy, harm Americans, and undermine the US Constitution:
Saturday, Feb. 1
Two top security officials from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) were placed on administrative leave after they refused to give system access to officials from Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
CBS News reported the Trump administration is planning to end a Biden-era program giving legal status to more than 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans.
Trump unilaterally announced tariffs on the US’ three biggest trade partners – Canada, Mexico, and China. (Trump later reached agreements with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to delay the implementation of tariffs for 30 days.)
Sunday, Feb. 2
GOP Rep. Brian Mast, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs, said he supports the “purging of people” throughout federal agencies.
Trump told reporters the US is “going to take” back the Panama Canal or “something very powerful is going to happen.”
AP reported that thousands of FBI employees who worked on investigations related to the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection were asked to complete in-depth questionnaires about their involvement in the cases.
US Marines arrived in Guantanamo Bay to “prepare to expand the Migrant Operations Center.”
Trump said he would cut funding to South Africa, baselessly claiming the country is “confiscating land” from white farmers – a claim Musk has promoted.
Reuters reported that lawyers at the US Securities Exchange Commission were told they needed permission from the politically appointed leadership before launching investigations.
The Trump administration named Darren Beattie the new acting under-secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, a top State Department post. Beattie was fired as a White House speechwriter during Trump’s first term after he spoke at a conference linked to white nationalists. He has also spewed conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6 insurrection, and made inflammatory comments about minorities and women, including saying that “competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work.”
Just days after nonprofit groups sued the federal government over its stop-work order for immigration court support programs, the Justice Department reversed its decision and reinstated funding.
Monday, Feb. 3
USAID’s headquarters in Washington was closed, and workers were told to stay home in a late-night email.
Musk bragged about spending the weekend “feeding USAID into the wood chipper.”
The White House said Musk is officially serving as a special government employee and possesses a top-secret security clearance.
Trump told reporters that closing USAID “should have been done a long time ago” and suggested Congress does not need to approve a measure to do so.
Rubio announced he will be the acting administrator of the USAID, despite the agency being an independent body for decades. Later that day, he told congressional committees that Pete Marocco, a controversial figure from Trump’s first term, would run the agency. Marocco has reportedly been tied to the Jan. 6 insurrection, though he was never charged with a crime.
Rubio also announced El Salvador offered to incarcerate convicted US citizens in their prisons for a fee.
NBC News reported that more than 1,000 employees at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were notified that they could be fired immediately.
Interim US attorney for DC Ed Martin sent Musk a letter offering protection for DOGE workers and indicated he would seek legal action “against anyone who impedes your work or threatens your people.”
The Washington Post reported that about 20 DOGE representatives are working to cut spending and staff inside the Department of Education as Trump prepares an executive order to dismantle the department. (Trump cannot legally eliminate the Education Department without congressional approval, but he could drastically limit its work.)
Jake Struebing, the former assistant US attorney for the District of Columbia who was fired by the Trump administration, said his removal and the firing of other Justice Department employees who worked on Jan. 6 investigations constitutes a “threat to national security.”
A US judge ordered a two-week extension on a pause of the Trump administration’s federal fund freeze, calling the move “potentially catastrophic” and saying it may have “run roughshod” over the authority of Congress when it comes to allocating government funding.
The ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Trump executive order that effectively suspended US asylum law.
Federal employee unions filed a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of violating federal privacy laws by giving DOGE access to sensitive government payment systems.
Tuesday, Feb. 4
The Trump administration said it was placing thousands of global USAID employees on administrative leave beginning Friday, and ordered them to return to the US within 30 days.
The CIA offered so-called buyouts to its entire workforce.
Reinstating policies from his first term, Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the UN Human Rights Council and suspending future funding to UNRWA, the refugee agency that provides critical aid to Palestinians in Gaza. (The Biden administration had already cut aid to UNRWA last year.)
Trump nominated Neil Jacobs to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Jacobs, who served as acting chief of NOAA in Trump’s first term, was cited for misconduct for his role in publishing an agency statement backing Trump's "Sharpiegate" claims and criticizing National Weather Service employees.
The Department of Homeland Security sent its first military flight with migrants to Guantanamo Bay.
Dozens of federal health workers discovered they had been “targets” of a doxxing website called “DEI Watch List.” Most of those listed are Black. The American Accountability Foundation, the right-wing group behind the list, said those included on the list worked on DEI initiatives, donated to Democratic candidates, and/or used pronouns in their bios.
FBI employees filed a class action lawsuit against acting Attorney General James McHenry and asked a federal judge to block the Trump administration from releasing the names of workers who participated in investigations related to Trump and the Jan. 6 insurrection.
FBI officials provided the DOJ with details of more than 5,000 employees who worked on Jan. 6 investigations, including employee ID numbers, job titles, and their role in the probes.
In a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said the US would “take over” Gaza and that Palestinians living there should be relocated, a move that would amount to “ethnic cleansing” and a violation of international law.
AP reported that several Head Start preschools that rely on federal funding continued to be locked out of the funding system despite a pause on Trump’s federal grant freeze.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from moving trans women to men’s prisons and ending their gender-affirming care.
Wednesday, Feb. 5
Trump signed an executive order banning trans women and girls from competing in female sports. He also called on Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to reject the visa applications of trans women athletes.
At least one DOGE representative gained access to computer systems at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in search of DEI efforts by employees. Some climate data then disappeared from the NOAA website.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove accused the acting leaders of the FBI of “insubordination” for refusing to name a “core team” of staffers who participated in investigations related to the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol.
Attorney General Pam Bondi launched a “Weaponization Working Group” tasked with reviewing the prosecutions of Trump by special counsel Jack Smith and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, as well as the civil fraud case against Trump in New York. The group is also set to review “prosecutorial abuse” related to, among other issues, the Jan. 6 investigations.
Bondi issued an order to end funding to sanctuary jurisdictions that “unlawfully interfere with federal law enforcement operations” and put a pause on “the distribution of all funds until a review has been completed.”
The Attorney General also reinstated the federal death penalty, ending a moratorium implemented under the Biden administration. She called for the death penalty in cases involving the murder of police, and called on US attorney’s offices to support new state death penalty charges against any of the 37 individuals who had their sentences commuted by Biden last month.
Bondi warned the DOJ’s 10,000 lawyers that they would face “discipline and potentially termination” if they refused to “zealously advocate” for the Trump administration’s agenda.
Bondi announced the DOJ would scale back enforcement of laws related to foreign lobbying transparency and bribes of foreign officials. The DOJ will also shut down its KleptoCapture task force that seized assets from sanctioned Russian oligarchs. In addition, the FBI is ending the Foreign Influence Task Force, which began during Trump’s first presidency.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the federal government would cancel $8 million worth of POLITICO subscriptions after a right-wing conspiracy theory falsely claimed that the news organization, along with the Associated Press, had been subsidized by funds from the USAID.
CNN reported the Office of Personnel Management’s chief financial officer resigned this week after being removed from her role and offered another that she considered a demotion.
The Wall Street Journal reported that unvetted DOGE representatives have accessed payment and contracting systems at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in search of what they consider fraud or waste.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright granted a DOGE associate access to the Energy Department’s IT system despite objections from the department’s general counsel.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the transcript and full video of Kamala Harris’ ‘60 Minutes’ interview on CBS after the newly installed FCC chair, Brendan Carr, reinstated a news distortion complaint into the then-vice president's appearance.
A second federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, saying it would “cause irreparable harm.”
Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas said he will introduce articles of impeachment against Trump for his comments indicating the US would “take over” Gaza.
A former member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a federal lawsuit against Trump and the new NLRB chairman, arguing her firing was illegal.
Thursday, Feb. 6
Trump called for CBS to cancel ‘60 Minutes’ and said the network should lose its broadcasting license in a post on Truth Social.
The US Senate confirmed Russell Vought, a co-author of Project 2025, to lead the White House budget office.
CNN reported that four days into Trump’s presidency, associates of Elon Musk asked the Treasury Department’s acting secretary to use its payment processing system to cut off all USAID spending.
The DOJ filed a lawsuit against Chicago and Illinois, arguing the city and state are interfering with Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration and seeking a court order to block sanctuary laws.
Trump issued an executive memo ordering a review of federal funding to all non-government organizations.
Trump signed an executive order to establish a task force to “eradicate anti-Christian bias” in the federal government.
He also signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the ICC over its investigations of Israel.
The EPA placed more than 160 environmental justice employees on paid administrative leave.
The FCC launched an investigation into the San Francisco-based radio station, KCBS, for its reporting on immigration enforcement actions in San José.
The New York Times reported that due to the stop-work order on research funded by USAID, thousands of people with experimental drugs and devices in their bodies were cut off from the researchers who were monitoring them.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the DOJ from releasing the names of FBI employees who worked on investigations involving Trump and Jan. 6.
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from imposing a midnight deadline for federal workers to voluntarily resign and take buyouts until a hearing occurs on Monday.
Federal Election Commission chair Ellen Weintraub said Trump removed her from her role in a move she said was not legal.
Two labor unions filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to reverse cuts to the USAID and a pause on all US foreign aid.
A federal judge in Seattle granted an injunction against Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship.
Friday, Feb. 7
Trump fired Colleen Shogan, the Archivist of the United States, who led the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) – the federal agency that previously tried to get classified documents back from Mar-a-Lago.
The Verge reported that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) removed publications from their website that mention queer and trans children.
Billionaire Steve Wynn, who donated more than $800,000 to the Trump campaign in the first quarter of 2024, filed a petition urging the Supreme Court to overturn the 1964 decision in New York Times v. Sullivan, protecting the freedom of the press to report on public officials.
Signage outside the USAID office in DC was covered with what appeared to be black tape.
It was announced that the National Institutes of Health will cut financial support for biomedical research at universities and non-profit institutes.
The Trump administration changed the federal government’s position in a Supreme Court case involving a Tennessee law banning the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans youth, arguing in favor of the ban.
Trump called for the firing of Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson in a post on Truth Social. Robinson has been critical of Trump and Musk.
Elon Musk called for the firing of Wall St Journal reporter Katherine Long, who dared to report on – and reveal – the racist social media posts of one of Musk’s DOGE employees. He later accused her of “criminal” behavior.
Musk unilaterally decreed the end of the Department of Education and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, both of which were established and funded by Congress.
The Trump administration agreed not to release the names of FBI employees who worked on Jan. 6 cases until the judge rules on the merits of the case.
The ACLU sent a letter to the federal government requesting access to and information regarding immigrants transferred from the US to Guantanamo Bay.
A group of Democratic lawmakers were refused entry to the Department of Education after demanding a meeting with the acting secretary.
Trump, having already signed an executive order effectively ending the right to asylum at the southern border, signed a new executive order ending all aid to South Africa while promoting the “resettlement of Afrikaner refugees.”
Trump announced he plans to fire the board and chair of the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and make himself the new chair in what seems to be a(nother) blatantly illegal move.
Missed weeks 1 and 2? Check them out here:
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This post absolutely freaked me out. It's not a nightmare.....it is real.
Excellent work, as usual. This is such important info. Any way to share it publicly?