Trump & Musk: Cashing In, Cutting You Out

Trump Accountability Watch: Trump and Musk Reveal Goal of Gutting Social Security, While Engaging in Unprecedented Abuse of Power to Pad Their Pocketbooks

This week, the true goals of the Trump-Musk Administration came further into focus as Elon Musk said the quiet part out loud, revealing that they’re ready to cut Social Security benefits. In an interview with FOX, Musk mused about cutting benefits such as Social Security by as much as $700 billion saying “that’s the big one to eliminate.” It’s just the latest signal that Musk is ready to cut Americans’ hard earned benefits. Earlier this month, Musk called Social Security “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.”

And while the world’s richest man and Trump’s top advisor puts millions of Americans’ hard-earned benefits on the chopping block, President Trump gave Musk’s company a boost with a White House South Lawn televised sales pitch amid declining Tesla’s declining sales. Then hours later Musk returned the favor with plans to funnel $100 million into Trump’s political operation in a clear quid pro quo abuse of power. 

But that wasn’t the only damning conflict of interest seen in the Administration this week. New Accountable.US research, first reported by CNN, revealed that as Trump changes his tune on crypto, the family business of Howard Lutnick – the billionaire Trump Commerce Secretary and public face of the effort – holds over $1.5 billion in MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin in the world. Lutnick and other top Trump officials are set to be major beneficiaries of the admin’s crypto policy announcements in yet another example of them abusing their power to help themselves, while average Americans’ daily costs skyrocket. 

While Trump, Musk, and their allies in Congress deliver for their billionaire backers – the chaos, corruption, and conflicts of interest in Trump’s cabinet is piling up: 

• Healthcare grifter Dr. Oz testifies before the Senate to oversee the agency responsible for overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act: Today, Trump’s CMS Administrator pick Dr. Mehmet Oz, the former television personality and failed Pennsylvania Senate candidate, testified in his hearing to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which oversees health care coverage for tens of millions of Americans. Oz stands to potentially benefit financially from lucrative ties to health companies he has grifted for and has been lambasted numerous times by the medical establishment for promoting unsubstantiated medical advice to his audiences. Accountable.US research, first reported by USA Today, revealed that Oz owned up to $33.7 million stock in companies that he’d oversee as CMS Administrator – leading him to divest these investments only after we brought his conflicts of interest light. Read our fact sheet for everything you need to know on Oz’s nomination.

• As Senate confirms Labor Secretary, Accountable.US calls on her not to listen to the numerous high level Trump appointees with alleged ties to forced labor or wage theft: This week as the Senate confirmed Lori Chavez-DeRemer to serve as Labor Secretary, Accountable.US called on her to take no advice or counsel from the at least five Trump nominees or officials tied to entities that allegedly perpetrated widespread forced labor or wage theft, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. Chavez-DeRemer will be responsible for enforcement of labor laws that protect workers rights’ involving unpaid wages, overtime, and minimum wage, as well as laws against child labor, forced labor and human trafficking. Donald Trump and his aides have repeatedly shown they are more sympathetic to corporations that seek maximum profit by cutting corners on wages and safety, than working Americans.

• Doubling down on VA’s “goal” to axe 80,000 VA employees, putting veterans’ benefits into limbo: After a report based on leaked internal memos revealed that Trump and Musk are planning to cut 80,000 employees from the Department responsible for administering health care and services for veterans, Secretary Doug Collins doubled down on their plans this week saying “that is a goal, that is our target.” At least a quarter of the VA’s workforce are veterans, with thousands standing to lose their jobs under Trump’s plans, and already their proposals are “destabilizing mental health care for veterans.”