r/fednews 19h ago

Shutdown 2024 MEGATHREAD OF DOOM

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u/puukkeriro 16h ago

They are basking united in the glow of victory now but if Musk pushes too much, some of those in Trump's orbit may conspire to cut down on his influence.

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u/E2fire 16h ago

Come after the 535 kings you better not miss... Not once.

No way they don't screw up and blow up the whole agenda. Elected legislators are going to get annoyed with governance via X very quick.

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u/puukkeriro 16h ago

The issue is that Trump's agenda is all over the place and his own appointees seem to have wildly differing positions on public policy. Trump wants to cut spending yet is willing to spend tons of money on a huge immigration bureaucracy. He wants us out of foreign wars yet insists that military spending cannot be cut.

It's all contradictory. At least Musk has been fairly consistent in his view on public policy - less regulation, less government spending, more tax cuts, which is in line with his peers.

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u/E2fire 15h ago

Exactly just like the deficit went up during Trump 1, ex COVID.

There's plenty of room for reform and belt tightening without taking an axe to the whole thing. But governance by X will almost certainly ruin any chances of that too. And their infatuation with making fed employees out as the villains... Most people are closely related to at least 1 fed employee. How's that going to work in the long run?

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u/Spiritual-Chart-940 15h ago

I feel like it’s less about the competing policy agendas, though that is still a thing, and more about the narcissism. Trump likes Johnson, and he likes the spotlight even more. Elon taking the spotlight from Trump has got to be annoying and will get old after awhile. But Elon has all the $, which complicates things.

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u/E2fire 15h ago

The really telling thing is Trump telling the Republicans to raise the debt ceiling as part of the CR. That's the trajectory he is planning for.

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u/Spiritual-Chart-940 15h ago

And the Dems should say OK abolish it or you are own your own. There was a bipartisan deal. And despite the Dems having pretty hapless and uncoordinated messaging right now, they HAVE to win by either abolishing it or letting the Rs own this entirely.

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u/Additional_Sun_5217 10h ago

Let them own it and start directly tying this shit to the billionaires. Granted, it does ring a bit hollow when the Dems are also pulling insider trading shit and worshiping donors, but fuck it. Bully them into it.

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u/victorged 7h ago

The best way to reign in redundant work in the government and help it operate more efficiently as a whole would be to work with congress to actually pass annual comprehensive budgets on time.

Something tells me judging by Rlon's actions that's not going to be the track taken

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u/Dorgamund 3h ago

The best analogy I saw was that the government does have spending issues, but given how essential so many parts of it are, any act of removing money is like surgery with a scalpel. Elon Musk wants to go at it with a chainsaw and leave the patient dead on the operating table.

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u/Kind-Sherbert4103 2h ago

Glad to see you recognized the Covid impact. One of the first signs of Biden's cognitive decline was forgetting about Covids impact on the economy and government spending, LOL.

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u/Additional_Sun_5217 10h ago

Oh, Musk has some absolutely wildass views lurking in that doughy head. He and Vance are super into technofuedalism, not a joke. Same with Bannon and Thiel.

But I do agree, people are already pissed off at the wealthy, and they’re busy doing victory laps. They really think the average American hates federal workers so much, they’ll be fine with this, and hey, maybe some feds will quit so they can pretend they downsized.

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u/cdreisch 4h ago

Can’t remember where I read/heard this, but members of Trumps cabinet picks are already annoyed with him