From the NYT article:In the coming days, legacy media will try to convince you that President Trump and Elon Musk are no longer friends and that’s why Musk left.
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) May 29, 2025
What they won’t tell you is that Elon was a Special Government Employee, limited to 130 days of service and that term ends tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/blNzVm9Gnd
Mr. Musk did not respond to a request for comment. In a post on X, his social media site, on Wednesday night, he officially confirmed for the first time that his stint as a government employee was coming to an end and thanked Mr. Trump “for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.”
So, instead of the phrase "Special Government Employee" — which appears at the post the NYT links — the Times makes it "government employee." And instead of noting the 130-day time limit built into the status of "Special Government Employee," the Times just says "his stint" is "coming to an end." And it adds the phrase "he officially confirmed for the first time" which makes it sound like a new development or something he'd previously kept under wraps. But the time limit was there from the start and official all along, so why did it matter that he "officially confirmed" it. Was it ever in question?
Perhaps the Times had previously cast doubt on whether Musk would leave when the 130 days ran out.
Ah, yes, here's a NYT article from April 23 — "A Subdued Musk Backs Away From Washington, but His Project Remains" — that ends: "By dialing back the number of days he spends working for the White House, Mr. Musk can also potentially stretch out the 130 days he is allotted as a 'special government employee.'" And here, on April 18 — in "Head of I.R.S. Is Ousted in Treasury’s Power Struggle With Elon Musk"— "As a special government employee, Mr. Musk is allotted 130 days of time on the job. But if he works part time, he may be able to extend his time in government."
The names Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan are on both of those.
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104 comments:
Anita Dunn was a “special gov’t employee” in the Biden admin. They just kept re-upping her appointment. No problem. And with that classification for 4 years she could keep all her outside sources of funds and NEVER had to do any financial disclosure docs. Tell me the Dems wouldn’t have been screaming to high heaven if Musk did the same thing.
If it wasn't for their Kreskin level mind reading, the press would have no idea whatsoever what was going on in the Trump Administration.
Every time I get mad at Trump after something I read about him, it turns out that the press story was somewhere between "invidious distortion" and "utter fabrication."
Ann - Very nice analysis. Bravo.
Trump and Musk even ran on the fact that Musk would only serve temporarily.
You can't possibly hate the legacy press enough.
Thanks for pointing the dishonesty out. Of course, these same people were known for "Teeing it up" for Obama and the Hillary campaign. Not to mention, lying about Russiagate for 3 years.
One benefit of being a RINO senator is you never get attacked by the NYT or WaPo. Romney went from being a villian in 2012, to the "Voice of reason" in 2018-2024. And I don't think I've read a bad word about McConnell, Collins, or Lisa Murky since Jan 2017.
Musk is being set up for a raft of lawsuits. He would have been much better off if he had just stuck to his knitting and managed Tesla, SpaceX and his numerous other companies. Now, he's damaged goods.
Despite all the bluster and theatrics, real power in the US system lies with the congress, which is driven by special interest and electoral concerns. DOGE, liberation day tariffs, all the executive orders won’t make lasting change. Only building slow tedious coalitions with congress does. And people like Trump and Musk are not made for that.
You can’t dislike these Journolists enough.
"Why doesn't the phrase "Special Government Employee" appear in the NYT article about Musk's "distancing" himself from Trump."
I'm assuming that's a rhetorical question.
The Federal District judges are running the executive branch so it doesn't matter much. Had Musk stayed on, they would've stopped everything he wanted to do. Evidently, all 700 judges must approve of any Presidental action before it can go into effect. That's the 'murican way.
There wouldn’t be story to report without lying. You expect them to report “Trump follows the law regarding Special Government Employee Elon Musk”?
I saw/heard several thoughtful pieces on Wednesday that explained that under congressional rules, budget recissions of the type recommended by DOGE could not be added to the reconciliation bill.
Instead, the budget reductions/recissions have to be handled separately and by formal request of the President. Hopefully this will happen soon to allow the DOGE recommendations to be implemented soon.
The budget savings may not be as large as originally projected, but our nation cannot continue with the wasteful spending mindset revealed by Musk and his team.
Kak at 749. 2nd paragraph is solid. 1st paragraph is jealous and silly.
Geez. It almost seems that Althouse thinks the NYT is blatantly dishonest.
@ PJ — Musk has been extraordinarily successful. Gutted the agencies that regulate Tesla and SpaceX and collected terabytes of personal data from various agencies to feed into Grok. Pretty good deal for 300 million.
Personal mission accomplished. The national one, not so much. But maybe it was always just for show.
"Instead, the budget reductions/recissions have to be handled separately and by formal request of the President. Hopefully this will happen soon to allow the DOGE recommendations to be implemented soon."
Senate democrats will filibuster them.
Not that the republicans shouldn't try.
Wait a Minute!
are you suggesting, that the WaPoo is spinning the truth?
or..
are you suggesting that the WaPoo wouldn't know the truth if it hit it in the face?
or..
BOTH?
I’m glad Ann reads the NYT so that we don’t have to.
TLDR
The NYT lies?
Dog bites man.
What is the Althouse fixation with this crummy source?
The NYT is embracing the principles of the UK quality press: if you want a good story, make it up. See the Telegraph, the Times of London, the Guardian, the Independent. They all do it.
Kak at 801. Assuming only a Musk profit motive and no national benefit motive is a tell.
some guy that Claims to be intelligent said..
"real power in the US system lies with the congress"
Wrongo maryloo!
REAL power in the US system lies SOLELY within district judges
NYT readers do not want to listen to, accept, acknowledge, or believe anything that goes against the rigid narrative of the bubble. Neo-brown shirts like David Hogg and AOC "know the truth" and wouldn't have it any other way.
They would far rather see the USA fail than have the "other team" succeed at anything. Hell, the left cheers when Musk's rockets blow up. They will do everything they can to see Musk and Trump fail, including murder if they can manage it. It is disheartening.
Why, you ask? We know why. They are calculatingly creating a calculated breakfast mix that appeals to their target readers and thereby keeping the CFO happy and their paychecks flowing. It is that simple. There are no other comparable considerations.
Of course, there are claims of higher motives - of the vaunted fourth estate and the need for a free press in a democracy. But that is all puffery at this point in the evolution of the internet.
As no less an authority on American culture Bugs Bunny has said: It's a livin'.
I will never expect the NYTimes to be truthful in its reporting when the subject is Trump. There will always be lies of omission.
Like Harvard, the NYT is never going to recover its lost reputation, because it cannot bring itself to.
The names Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan are on both of those.
Hey! It wasn’t any of us who attributed any credibility to these names. Inviting anyone here to believe they’ve damaged their reputations with this manipulation is to wrongly assume they had built any goodwill…
Senate democrats will filibuster them.
Not that the republicans shouldn't try.
I suspect there isn’t a critical mass of congressional republicans willing to try either. They spent and now the cuts are off the table, or tabled, or whatever excuse leadership will give for not trying…
If the names Haberman and Swan appear on anything, it's trash.
The reality is that the guerilla warfare on Tesla and Tesla cars was starting to seriously damage the brand. His Board (yes he controls them, but they still have fiduciary obligations) was getting very restless. The politics of destruction worked.
Musk saved spendng in a messy inefficient manner, only for Trump to spent it in others. Net effect=Increased US deficit.
Musk's task was to light a fire under the process of cleaning up the stables (to mix metaphors). He did that.
To those sneering and cheering for failure, what is your "solution?" Pretending that there is no problem can only work for so long.
Our corrupt Soviet Media - They lie. Non Stop.
kak is wack.
"What is the Althouse fixation with this crummy source?"
Crossword puzzles.
MM @ 8:27
And yet the stock price continues to go up.
I don't think you're an honest broker here.
Musk attempts to cut the waste and theft - and the Soviet Leftist Democratics - all the way up to creep Chuck Schumer - call for Domestic Terror against Musk.
Democratic Antifa type thugs to their stations.
We're talking about the NYT & President Trump, they have to make it sound bad since they swapped from journalism to propaganda.
Soviet Democratic Hack Media - are lying liars who lie.
Loyalist Cultist Democratics who watch MSNBC - obey and believe.
“ The names Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan are on both of those.”
That would be damning if those were damnable.
It is the democrat NYTimes. Amazing that you are willing to spend so much time fact checking this democrat propaganda:
They have been lying for 8 years. Nothing they write is trustworthy. .
Filed under “Gotta Love It”:
A tenured behavioral scientist at the Harvard Business School who was making close to $1,000,000 per year has been fired for falsifying data in her study of “Dishonesty”.
Musk...would have been much better off if he had just stuck to his knitting...
Would he? In what sense? Financially? How about in terms of his self-respect? How about as an American? How about as human being?
The nail that sticks up gets pounded down. Be afraid. Fall in line or we will attack and destroy you. That's your side. That's what you've become. That's what you're bragging about.
Do you think Musk didn't know it would cost him? That's what makes it courageous and admirable. Maybe you have no conception of that. Soldiers who volunteer to go to war would be better off staying at home and making good money, right? But for how long?
Would pounding on the stupid heads of Journolists like Swan and Haberman even work to help them straighten up?
Meh… probably not…
Every MAGA supporter ought to understand that Trump is not cutting debts or deficits. He will be increasing our deficit by trillions of dollars. That number will go up by trillions more if his tax cuts for the rich are not allowed to sunset. So when Trump tells you his beautiful budget will reduce deficits, he is lying. That is not opinion. That is math.
"Why doesn't the phrase "Special Government Employee" appear in the NYT article about Musk's "distancing" himself from Trump"? LOL. They're progs in the business of spinning a narrative for the purpose of propaganda. In any one instance, the job is to find the angle most negative for Trump and his allies. So here, they must leave out obvious facts. Maybe it still works for their audience, this daily diet of TDS. But it appears the NYT has not yet come to terms with the fact that they do not control the commanding heights of media or operate in a self-maintained bubble anymore. The rest of us can respond, burst the bubble, and hear reality-based voices, Althouse among them (thanks in part to Musk himself, itself unforgiveable).
Those of you who love Trump and dump on Haberman have to reconcile the fact that Trump is well known to enjoy picking up the phone and shooting the breeze with Haberman.
Quick question: do I hate the media enough?
"Those of you who love Trump and dump on Haberman have to reconcile the fact that Trump is well known to enjoy picking up the phone and shooting the breeze with Haberman."
No, we don't.
Iman said...
“Filed under ‘Gotta Love It’:
A tenured behavioral scientist at the Harvard Business School who was making close to $1,000,000 per year has been fired for falsifying data in her study of ‘Dishonesty’.”
So she really is an expert in dishonesty.
“ . . . under congressional rules, budget recissions of the type recommended by DOGE could not be added to the reconciliation bill.
Instead, the budget reductions/recissions have to be handled separately and by formal request of the President . . . “
Those goddam Republicans better get off their asses and start cutting government spending. Congressional rules were made by . . . Congress. Conveniently these do nothing Republicans are in Congress. Do your jobs.
Political journalism often suffers from a troubling tendency: correspondents prioritize the statements of habitual liars over documents, events, judicial rulings, and truthful individuals who contradict them. This practice is both frustrating and harmful, as it shapes the narrative presented in reporting.
The names Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan are on both of those.
Along with the comment section, bloggers really changed how citizens view news media. Bloggers cover news outlets like news outlets are supposed to cover everything else.
"So she really is an expert in dishonesty."
If she was, would she have been caught?
Proponents of hopelessness and personal cowardice snigger at Musk as though he hasn't had a profound impact on national politics in less than a year of involving himself directly. Far from being cowed, Musk's decision to stand up for freedom, democracy and individual rights by supporting Trump instead of shutting up and paying the greedy swamp creatures, was a result of previous attacks on him over his purchase of Twitter.
Musk started a preference cascade that contributed strongly to Trump's landslide victory. His example has Americans of every stripe, who had bought into the anti-Trump media narrative, re-thinking their previous assumptions and has Democrats in complete disarray. Look at the poll numbers. Musk's example is responsible for a big chunk of that.
Musk's 130 day job coming to an end is hardly a surrender or a sign of failure. He came in and set up DOGE which is still there and still working. I doubt he will ever quit fighting the totalitarian Prog machine.
Musk is gone for one reason, and one reason only: The Big Beautiful Bill
1) Musk hates it, and calls it a travesty.
2) There's waste, fraud and abuse contained in that budget.
3) Can't have Musk around finding it and pointing it out to people.
Musk was useful and he was used. Now he is not useful.
The article is written to give hope to the hopeless Dems. See! We can beat our enemies! Just keep up the violence!
Are you sure Trump and Musk are not triangulating Congress?
Trump gets the growth package he wanted; the Senate and House have to fight over additional cuts?
They knew this perfectly well, and deliberately lied by omission in order to advance the political fortunes of the Left.
However much you hate and distrust the news media, it's not nearly enough.
It is the democrat NYTimes. Amazing that you are willing to spend so much time fact checking this democrat propaganda:
They have been lying for 8 years. Nothing they write is trustworthy. .
They've been lying longer than any of us have been alive, since the days of Walter Duranty.
So apparently all of the lefty dissemblers who sully this site are a-okay with the U.S. government spending much more money than it takes in, thus guaranteeing insolvency in a few, short years. And they’ve no interest in reforming SS, Medicare, etc.
One can certainly discern those of us who have children and grandchildren and who doesn’t
…and you doesn’t has to call me Johnson…
All those extra authors and abundant words in the NYT just make you dumber on the subject. Why do people continue to work on being dumber when much better technology is available which is far more efficient and honest?
You're supposed to just read it and believe it. Is that so hard? Read it. Then believe it.
"What is the Althouse fixation with this crummy source?".
I think Althouse began with the view, common to many of our generation, that The Old Gray Lady was the Newspaper of Record -- the first draft of history. At this point, she is is like a helpless onlooker at a catastrophic fire, who can't look away.
"So apparently all of the lefty dissemblers who sully this site are a-okay with the U.S. government spending much more money than it takes in, thus guaranteeing insolvency in a few, short years."
I have children, and hope to have grandchildren. But I see no likelihood that the American political system will rein in deficit spending, let alone pay down the debt. It was devised as a republic, but it has become a democracy, and those always end in tyranny.
Recission bills are straightforward- the President proposes a cut in previously appropriated funds and the House and Senate can enact the recission by majority votes- no filibuster. I am certain that all DOGE cuts have been sent to Congress for enactment on this fast track and the fact that none of them have been acted on is on Congress, not the White House.
Of course, were Congress actully passing any these, there would be a district judge enjoining the process almost instantly.
And Althouse is correct- previously, the required Democrat narrative was Musk breaking the rules and threatening to not obey the time limit of a special employee; now the required narrative is that Musk isn't obeying the time limit, which in this case must be deliberately ignored by the very same 'journalists', but that he is leaving because he is angry.
I think one of the requirements for being a writer for the NYTimes is to have literally no sense of shame.
The people of the United States elected Trump and overwhelmingly approve of his actions.
The courts think all they have to do is stop Trump. This is incorrect.
Trump is merely the latest escalation in our efforts to make the DC swamp serve us again.
If the swamp resorts to undemocratic means to thwart our will then there will be another escalation.
Trump is the best deal you are going to get from us. The next person we select to lead this effort will make Trump and Vance and Rubio look like nice people.
The government of the United States will serve the people of the United States. Period.
"Musk is being set up for a raft of lawsuits. He would have been much better off if he had just stuck to his knitting"
Bich, you don't have to actively prove that you don't understand the concept of courage- we already know that you don't understand the concept.
So apparently all of the lefty dissemblers who sully this site are a-okay with the U.S. government spending much more money than it takes in, thus guaranteeing insolvency in a few, short years.
And how, exactly, does Trump's Big Beautiful Bill (or Doge's cuts for that matter) reduce the deficit? Other than hand-waving that the tax cuts will miraculously let us grow out of the debt (which past tax cuts have done precisely never), how does any of the nonsense of the last few months contribute to reducing the debt.
By Musk's own metrics DOGE has been an epic failure. Depending on when asked, he was going to find one or two trillion in savings. Even being generous and believing his bullshit, he has found somewhere around $160 billion, so about ten percent of what he originally claimed.
So now, we're a government OF district court judges, BY district court judges, and FOR district court judges---that other definition Lincoln offered in the Gettysburg Address having now perished from the earth.
amirite?
Only in Freder's woozy, hyperpartisan world, one seen through shit-smeared glasses, is $160 billion clawed back from fraud, waste, abuse and criminality in only 130 days an "epic failure."
Not to mention that those programs will no longer live on in perpetuity, thus saving multiples of that original $160 billion in the future..
Further not to mention that Doge's work continues.
Kakistocracy said...
Musk is being set up for a raft of lawsuits. He would have been much better off if he had just stuck to his knitting and managed Tesla, SpaceX and his numerous other companies. Now, he's damaged goods.
Oh please keep talking dirty to me.
Please force Musk through some struggle sessions with leftist hacks pretending to be judges. Please get the ACLU to do some pro bono prosecution and civil cases.
Just like you did to Trump. Because that worked out so well for you.
I want the shrinking and dwindling number of uniparty hacks to keep using insect politics. More violence. More lawsuits. More attacks on Americans and their businesses. Please keep using the courts to block policies with over 60% popular support.
Please keep it up.
Only in Freder's woozy, hyperpartisan world, one seen through shit-smeared glasses, is $160 billion clawed back from fraud, waste, abuse and criminality in only 130 days an "epic failure."
If you set a goal to do something and end up delivering ten percent of what you promised, then it is an epic failure.
Please keep using the courts to block policies with over 60% popular support.
Where on earth are you getting your numbers that show this kind of support for anything Trump or that people "overwhelmingly approve of his actions."
If you set a goal to do something and end up delivering ten percent of what you promised, then it is an epic failure.
Oh, come on, Fred, even you can't be that obtuse.
Freder Frederson said...
Please keep using the courts to block policies with over 60% popular support.
Where on earth are you getting your numbers that show this kind of support for anything Trump or that people "overwhelmingly approve of his actions."
Reality.
Trump won the popular vote even with California letting the entire country of Mexico participate in the election.
Please keep it up. It is time for judicial reform.
$160,000,000,000 here, many departments closed and all of the savings in the future that will bring… no more raiding the treasury of money without rationale or explanation of why it was needed.
That is a win in my book.
oh yes he is,
$160,000,000,000 here, many departments closed and all of the savings in the future that will bring. . . . That is a win in my book.
Of course, the Big Beautiful Bill will increase the deficit by 2.5 trillion over 10 years. When you consider that, $160 billion is not very impressive, since it will cover just over half of one year's increase in the deficit.
(which past tax cuts have done precisely never)
Every tax cut has resulted in increased revenue to the government. Every. Single. One.
The debt keeps growing because nobody's willing to rein in the spending.
Musk was trying to do that, but people like you shit on him.
What's your solution, Freder?
Freder Frederson said...
$160,000,000,000 here, many departments closed and all of the savings in the future that will bring. . . . That is a win in my book.
Of course, the Big Beautiful Bill will increase the deficit by 2.5 trillion over 10 years. When you consider that, $160 billion is not very impressive, since it will cover just over half of one year's increase in the deficit.
************************
Can you wrap your last working neuron around the idea that DOGE is not done seeking additional reductions, and will continue to do so through Trump's term?
Every tax cut has resulted in increased revenue to the government. Every. Single. One.
But not enough to pay for the tax cut. Every. Single. One.
Under your theory, eliminating all taxes would result in infinite revenue.
💩 Teh Mark of Fredo®
Freder says: "Under your theory, eliminating all taxes would result in infinite revenue." Well, I'm willing to give it a try.
So it took 5 high-priced reporters to write that article for the New York Times? My I suggest that Musk could look for ways to reduce costs at the Times? Or maybe I can save him some time. Cut the reporter workforce by at least 50%.
As a retired employee of the Federal government, I can assure you that if Musk had wanted to stay, and Trump had wanted him to stay, there are several hiring authorities that could have been used to keep him on. My guess is that they both thought 130 days was enough to get the project off to a good start.
Seems to me that if the 2 trillion buck deficits bother you now, you probably should have said something when it was your team in office. But it's okay because 'newly discovered principle' tears are the tastiest of all.
We know that there was at one time a real person named "Maggie Haberman." How many of the other five journalists are AI bots?
Under your theory, eliminating all taxes would result in infinite revenue.
See the Laffer Curve.
I think Elon is trolling the Dems. He says he hates the bbbb but the Dems are conditioned to do the opposite so now they will vote for the bbbb.
There are many ways to lie. A gaggle of NYT employees can plumb the depth of them all/
Democrats will eat this misinformation up like free ice cream served by Biden's "politburo".
Who or what program has done more cost cutting faster and cheaper than DOGE, which is just a fledgling of three months. I'm surprised Musk took on the non-paying job at all, let alone 130 days. He's the richest man in the world with at least 3 of the most exciting, lucrative and important jobs in history, and he's been doing free forensic accounting for people who hate him for it out of either greed or stupidity. He'd be crazy to stay.
"Under your theory, eliminating all taxes would result in infinite revenue.
See the Laffer Curve. "
Yeah, that was a pretty good tell that FF knows nothing of economics. Or is a wanna-be NYT editorialist.
Former Law Clerk @ 9:56
You know, of course, that his mandate was for 130 days, right? Those 130 days are up.
And you also know that he can't hire or fire anybody, right?
That part is up the president or congress. I suggest, if you are unhappy, that you contact your congressperson and let them know you'd like to see the DOGE recommendations implemented right away.
But not enough to pay for the tax cut. Every. Single. One.
Look it up. Every time the federal government has cut taxes, revenue has increased. And increased more than enough to make up for the revenue lost due to the cuts.
What part of neither party is willing to cut costs don't you understand? It's not a revenue problem. It's a spending problem.
And while you're running your mouth, I noticed you STILL didn't offer a solution. Why is that?
"Kakistocracy said...
Musk is being set up for a raft of lawsuits. "
Lawsuits for exactly what ? He didn't actually do anything himself - they made recommendations which were then acted up on by the executive.
Your credibility and $5.00 will get you a McHappy Meal.
Freder Frederson said...
Every tax cut has resulted in increased revenue to the government. Every. Single. One.
But not enough to pay for the tax cut. Every. Single. One.
Under your theory, eliminating all taxes would result in infinite revenue.
Stupid people resort to straw man argument like this.
This is just a stupid argument. You are just a stupid person.
How much are you still paying to support that failing publication? (Failing in a practical, getting the job done way, not necessarily economically?) I guess they hook you with free subscriptions/writeoffs in academia, and all these years later, even with all the proof the reporters aren't really reporting, you're hooked and can't quit them?
What's your boy TaNehisi Coates putting out these days? If you pay for their "work", you will get more crap...
(Wait until you learn -- in decades to come -- what our tax billions are buying in Gaza today. Boy, you educated folk gonna be shocked what the news really is in this world while you wait for what Clybe Haberman's daughter is documenting. How's the Jake Tapper book on audio reads coming? Are you shocked yet what was going down in DC in recent years while you watched the sun come up every morn?)
Freder. From the Masai Tribe of economics.
Why doesn't the phrase "Special Government Employee" appear in the NYT article about Musk's "distancing" himself from Trump?
Because it ain't news that's fit to print.
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