CNN host Jake Tapper said Monday on “The Lead” that President Donald Trump was attempting to shrink the government with an “axe being brandished and swung recklessly.”
Tapper said, “Whether you voted for President Donald Trump or not, you probably expected to see some disruption to the normal way the government does things. tariffs, aggressive deportations, efforts to shrink the federal government. the question in that last part, efforts to shrink the government is how? How is the Trump administration working toward accomplishing that goal? Two weeks into his second term the answer is with very broad strokes and blunt instruments. For instance, most federal employees received a letter pushing them to resign now and be paid through September or risk the elimination of their positions in the future. Maybe some of you are thinking, good, the government needs to shrink, and maybe you think that these employees are bureaucratic dweebs here in DC enforcing crazy regulations or whatever. Except I heard from one of those federal employees earlier today. She’s a friend of mine. She’s a psychologist for the Department of Veterans affairs. A VA not here in DC, it’s all the way out there in the heartland. What’s her job? In my view, her job is making sure that veterans with post-traumatic stress don’t kill themselves.”
He continued, “Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has granted Elon and Co full access to the government’s payment system. That’s the system that pays out your Social Security benefits, your tax refunds and payments to federal workers and contractors, adding up to more than $5 trillion a year. Why is he being given this access?”
Tapper said, “President Trump was asked about this today.”
A reporter asked, “Mr. President, why is it important for Elon Musk to have access to the payment systems at treasury?”
Trump said, “Well, he’s got access only to letting people go that he thinks are no good. If we agree with him. And it’s only if we agree with him. He’s a very talented guy from the standpoint of management and costs, and we put him in charge of seeing what he can do with certain groups and certain numbers.”
Tapper said, “Certain groups and certain numbers. Which ones? VA psychologists and NIH cancer researchers? Surely parts of the federal government could be whittled down but what we’ve seen so far is an axe being brandished and swung recklessly.”
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