Is Elon Musk Getting His Wings Clipped?

New pushback on DOGE. Student loan holders in limbo. Crypto elite head to the White House. Why is DOGE targeting the Obama Library? And an answer to our most frequently asked question.

This is former President Barack Obama at the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20, 2025. Why is he now in DOGE’s crosshairs? (Photo by Saul Loeb - Pool/Getty Images)

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Hi everyone, Happy Friday. I’m sick today so we’re going straight to the news. Do read to the end where we offer one answer to your most frequently asked question: “What can I do?”

Here Are Your Headlines:

• Poor Omens: We could have seen this one coming. In the month of February, layoffs planned by US employers surged by 245% — a level not seen since the COVID pandemic or Great Recession. Of 172,000 planned job cuts 62,000 were federal jobs. To compare, the government cut just 60 jobs in 2024. At the same time, hiring in some sectors was strong enough to leave the unemployment rate largely steady. The labor market added about 20,000 fewer jobs than expected. 

• School’s Out: It’s Friday and Trump still hasn’t signed an executive order to eliminate the Department of Education, slated for earlier this week. Trump’s Education Secretary Linda McMahon told Fox News it’s coming, and that the US doesn’t need the department. At the same time, she’s acknowledging that it’s up to Congress to abolish the department. There’s no indication they have support in the US Senate to do so. (To avoid a filibuster, Trump would likely need 60 votes, meaning at least seven Democrats.) Instead, they could start transferring Department of Education responsibilities to other agencies.

  • Looming Trouble: Trigger warning for student loan holders. One big question is what happens to the $1.64 trillion in student loans managed by the DoE? Project 2025 envisioned transferring responsibility to the Treasury Department, and letting the private sector offer future student loans. For those who currently hold debt, they’ve talked about offering a switch to an income-driven repayment plan (your payments adjust based on your income). But gone are the days of loan forgiveness. “It’s a tidal wave coming,” one former department employee told CNN.

Conservative outlets say that shutting down the Department of Education will “let states run schools.” But outlets on the left say it will put“schools at risk.” To learn more about the difference in coverage, check out Ground News. Their app and website gather top news from sources around the country and the world. I rely on Ground News to quickly and consistently stay up to date on the way stories I care about are framed by outlets across the political spectrum. Ground News is offering the News Not Noise community 40% off their all-access vantage subscription plan. To subscribe, go to GroundNews.com/NNN

• Whoa, Boy: Is Congress standing up for itself? Republican Senators met with Elon Musk for two hours Wednesday and reportedly told him that they have to approve his cuts through legislation. Lawmakers also pressed Musk to warn them about cuts and freezes in advance, and to actually respond to their questions and concerns. All this comes after members vented their frustrations to the White House over Musk’s rampage through the government — which is not sitting well with many constituents. Musk reportedly gave the Senators his personal cell number. Keep in mind, Musk has repeatedly warned he’s keeping a “naughty list” of lawmakers; he’s threatened to use his wealth to unseat perceived enemies in primary elections. 

  • DOGE’s Wings Clipped? The New York Times has a dishy piece about a fiery cabinet meeting in which Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy confronted Musk about DOGE’s reckless approach. It quotes Duffy accusing DOGE of ordering him to fire air traffic controllers – something the White House has denied. In the end Trump reportedly declared that cabinet members, not Elon Musk, have final say over job cuts. “And if they don’t cut,” Trump said, “Elon will do the cutting.” He also reportedly said that they should proceed with a “scalpel” not a hatchet. The Times reported that Musk’s “caustic responses to Mr. Duffy and Mr. Rubio seemed to deter other cabinet members, many of whom have privately complained about the Musk team, from speaking.” To review: the White House has said that Musk runs DOGE, doesn’t even work for DOGE, is in fact the head of DOGE. And the latest twist: Whatever his role at DOGE, it’s not up to him to make the final call.

  • Failure to Launch: The internet is enjoying the videos of debris from a SpaceX Starship that exploded shortly after liftoff Thursday. It was so bad the FAA had to temporarily stop commercial flights in major Florida airports. It’s the second consecutive SpaceX rocket to blow up this year.

  • Petty Behavior: Here’s a roundup of some petty moves by DOGE and the White House. DOGE reportedly cancelled a lease with the Obama Presidential Library. They also ruled that Maine parents must take their newborns to the Social Security Administration for registration, rather than doing so in the hospital as is national practice. My sources tell me they believe this was meant as retribution after Maine’s governor got in a spat with Trump. The policy was reversed after an outcry. And the OMB sent a bizarre questionnaire to some program heads at the Centers for Disease Control. I’ve seen it and it asks questions including, “Can you confirm this is not a climate or “environmental justice” project,” “does this project … defend against gender ideology,” and whether this program helps in “combatting Christian persecution.” Employees of PEPFAR, the global health program that fights HIV and AIDS in Africa, were among those asked to respond. 

• More Flip Flops: A new day, a new tariff policy. Thursday Trump once again delayed tariffs on Mexico, and later Canada. 

  • Hot and Cold: Trump says he delayed the tariffs after a phone call with Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum “out of respect for” her. Sheinbaum later thanked Trump for an “excellent and respectful” phone call on Thursday. Trump’s call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the same day was apparently the opposite — heated and reportedly laced with profanity. Tariffs are set to go back in effect April 2, assuming Trump doesn’t change his mind once again. Don’t hold your breath.

  • Exemptions: Keep in mind, goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement are exempt. They account for roughly 50% of imports from Mexico and 38% from Canada. The USMCA is a controversial free trade agreement Trump signed in 2020. 

• Measles: RFK Jr is encouraging anyone concerned about the measles outbreak to try cod liver oil packed with Vitamin A and other questionable treatments. This after he penned an article acknowledging that the wildly successful MMR vaccine is helpful for children, but insisted it’s a “personal choice.” A second American has died of measles. This victim was a New Mexico adult who was not vaccinated. 

• Ukraine, Russia, and Peace: Today Trump threatened “large-scale” tariffs and sanctions on Russia if it refused peace. He complained that Russia has been "pounding" Ukraine ever since the US stopped sharing intelligence and paused aid to Ukraine. This is a surprising change, after earlier this week Trump said he’s interested in lifting sanctions on Russia. 

  • Ego Soothing: This comes after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent Trump a conciliatory letter, calling their meeting “regrettable,” thanking the US for its help, and affirming his team is “ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.” Zelenskyy is set to visit Saudi Arabia next week, for peace talks between the US and Ukraine. Zelenskyy will meet the Saudi Crown Prince.

  • New World Order: In a remarkable address to his nation, French President Macron warned that Europe must prepare for “a new era” where the US might not “remain by our side,” if Russia attacks Europe. He also said he’s considering extending nuclear protection to France’s allies Wednesday. Thursday, EU leaders discussed boosting aid to Ukraine, during emergency talks with Zelenskyy. 

  • Who Benefits: China is using the growing split between the US and EU to try and improve its own position, encouraging European leaders to turn to Beijing for support as Trump distances the US from Europe. “I believe European friends should reflect” on Trump’s “brazen and domineering policy toward Europe,” Chinese special envoy Lu Shaye said Thursday. He urged them to “compare the Trump administration’s policies with those of the Chinese government.” This is one of the many reasons the US doesn’t break with allies. China is ready to move in. 

• Let’s Talk: Today Trump announced he sent a letter to Iran calling for a new nuclear deal. “You can’t let them have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. He also threatened military intervention, warning Iran “it’s going to be a terrible thing for them.” Russia is reportedly acting as a mediator. Trump withdrew from the previous nuclear agreement in 2018, and Iran subsequently stockpiled enriched uranium that could be used in nuclear weapons. 

• Line Go Up: Crypto elite descended on the White House today to meet with Trump. This follows his executive order yesterday directing officials to create strategies for acquiring bitcoin. This would be for Trump’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which effectively frames the volatile coin as a national asset like crude oil or gold. That’s separate from the US Digital Asset Stockpile, which will hold multiple other cryptocurrencies. As of now, Trump isn’t directing the government to buy cryptocurrency; instead, the administration plans to fill both the reserve and stockpile with confiscated cryptocurrencies.

• Worker Win: On Thursday a federal judge ordered the Trump administration reinstate Gwynne Wilcox, the first black woman to serve on the National Labor Relations Board. The judge slammed Trump’s attempt to fire Wilcox as “a blatant violation of the law,” and said Trump’s “insistence that he has authority to fire whomever he wants within the Executive branch … is flat wrong.”

What Can You Do:

Lots of you have been asking me how you can get involved and do something. So I asked my friends at the non-profit All in Together for some advice on civic engagement. They offered some great tips:

• Every year Congress publishes a calendar that shows when your Senator or member of Congress has to be in Washington. If Congress isn't in session, your member will usually be in the district meeting with constituents.

  • The House and Senate have different calendars. The House calendar is here and the Senate calendar is here.

• If you’re not sure (like most Americans!) who represents you, you can look up your member of Congress using your zip code.

  • For your Representative, visit the House website here.

  • For your Senator, visit the Senate website here.

• Then what? Town Hall meetings are a great way to make your voice heard. Members of Congress usually post information about open meetings on their website events page (sometimes they will be listed under “media” or “meet the member”). 

  • Sign up for the newsletter your member puts out so information comes to you — or check their official social media pages. 

  • If you still can’t find what you need you can call your local office and ask.

• If you attend a Town Hall, go with a friend and be polite – while shouting might go viral, it’s not a great way to get good answers. 

• If you have a chance to speak, be sure to say where you live – not your exact address but a neighborhood so they know you are a constituent.

  • Plan what you will say and keep it brief with a specific ask.

• Finally if there is an issue you want to discuss in depth you can schedule a meeting with a staffer. These are the folks who really do the work. If you have a couple people from the community who agree with you on that issue, bring them along. Again — be polite, be constructive.

Though Republican House members have been instructed to cancel town halls during Spring recess, that’s not true of members of the Senate. You can find out more about All in Together here.

Want more information?

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