Yesterday, it was noted that DOGE may not be long for this world in that court actions in response to the weekend email sent from the Office of Personnel Management system, one that asked that every federal employee break down five bullet points related to what they did last week, might well shut the entire enterprise down until such time as it developed objective and hard rules to be put in place to act less arbitrarily and capriciously, and today – on a very related note, we may see the beginning of the end of DOGE in the court of public opinion, with a backlash that is not only building but is showing signs of being strong enough as to knock the wind right out from under Musk’s mission. Short and sweet, despite the fact that Donald Trump does have the power to do most of what Musk is doing, that doesn’t mean that he can take the political hit that continuing in such a manner will require. With both the courts and now public about to push back, hard, it is more likely than not that the administration will have to pull back in what could eventually be seen as a major defeat.
From reports on Bluesky and in major media outlets, the pushback against what is seen as a laughably “amateur move” by Musk is undeniable. This column isn’t a bad start but one could also find plenty of supporting material on social media:
Elon Musk may succeed in uniting a politically polarized country… in rolling their eyes at his performative bullshit management emails. danieldrezner.substack.com/p/how-elon-m…
— Daniel Drezner (@dandrezner.bsky.social) 2025-02-24T12:18:03.343Z
I noted very early on Sunday that various departments had already told their employees to not reply to the email, starting with the FBI’s Kash Patel and flowing forth from there. The dynamic is new, it is the first sign of a fight among true Trump supporters below Trump but possibly above Musk (The department heads at least have an official title that will stand up in court when tested against caselaw.). There was a great deal of confusion within many departments as to what to even do, per a report in The Washington Post.
Employees at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency were told definitively to reply — a few hours before DHS sent a note saying the opposite. In some parts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, staffers received instructions to draft a response but not send it yet. At other agencies, such as the Department of Health and Human Services, employees were first given one instruction only to be emailed later to pause and watch for more guidance Monday.
I noted that it was rather brave of Patel to come out and say that the FBI will handle all reviews with its own procedures while simply telling every FBI employee to “pause” any response. The path of least resistance is to just let it flow right on through and fight somewhere else, or don’t fight at all. Yet that wasn’t done, nor should it have been. And that might lead one to wonder, “Who will be the first department head to tell Musk, ‘I take your findings to be advisory. Our department handles all layoffs and staffing decisions. You can submit your findings to me for review, but I will be handling all staffing decisions within this department… ‘” I think it is right around the corner, especially if the people who instructed employees to ignore the email turn out to have been right. And who will measure who is right?
President Donald Trump’s aides in the White House, I am thinking about Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, in particular, have to have been getting calls all weekend talking about how this did not go over well and that it is a line in the sand. They will know how much potential this has to hurt Trump politically, very early in his administration. (A poll discussed on Morning Joe this morning put the figure at 55% opposing Musk’s power, 36% approving, a near-20 point difference, unheard of this early in an administration, the backlash builds.) They will be the ones telling Trump to distance himself from Musk on this.
I’ve been wrong before, but the email miss Elon sent out on a Sat. W/ a Mon. deadline marks his unraveling. No amount of fist pounding will be able to fix the thin veneer of credibility he just shattered. No amount of money will fix the lack of authority he just demonstrated. pic.twitter.com/hPI6yjrzVN
— Ryan Mclickclock (@nwdbbnr) February 23, 2025
@euronews: Backlash grows over Musk order for federal staff to email achievements
— News Feed (@news-feed.bsky.social) 2025-02-24T11:56:04.782Z
"The email was nothing more than an irresponsible and sophomoric attempt to create confusion and bully the hard-working federal employees that serve our country." https://t.co/M74GRMr4Kb
— Common Dreams (@commondreams) February 24, 2025
Update: Musk's tantrum continues to be a monumental bad idea, from a managerial, legal and nausea perspective. Ignore it. https://t.co/6h1rnNFnTl
— Sean Casten (@SeanCasten) February 24, 2025
— Krassensteins (@krassenstein.bsky.social) 2025-02-24T02:49:23.382Z
Grok puts the odds of DOGE being shut down by a judge in the next 48 hours at 50% – and that sounds just about right to me. I would hope that at the very least, a judge would require DOGE to cease all actions until such time as it promulgates its own rules to follow in letting people go from work. The standard is such that an agency cannot act arbitrarily and capriciously – as was noted on Saturday, the single least-targeted email in the nation’s history is the definition of arbitrary, and ad hoc decisions made on the fly without set rules is as capricious as it gets. Judges are people and can sense whether their rulings will be supported or fought. Like anyone, a judge is more likely to issue an order that she knows to be rooted in strong public support as “the right thing to do” in most situations. As this backlash grows, look for courts to grow their role in this matter.
This will continue to get near non-stop coverage here and elsewhere. These are the first cracks in the dam and couldn’t be more important.
God Bless: I can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter – X at @JasonMiciak and please follow me on Bluesky.
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When the world’s richest drug-addict is spiraling in front of the entire world, he should expect that the entire world will stage his intervention!!
Have a seat, Elon, you need to know a few things and we are all here to tell you about it! You don’t have to go to rehab, but you CAN’T STAY HERE!! 😵😵💫🤬🥾
Musk is a snake in human clothing. He has no feelings for anyone but himself, and even that is questionable. At worst, his firing email should have been given to department heads to deliver.
The wording of the discharge letters was horrible and demeaning. He metaphorically stuck the firing knife into loyal employees’ hearts and then twisted it. It could have been so much better. But he has no empathy, no sense of kindness, only a sadistic feeling of superiority. He’s a sick individual.
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He is a psychopath, likely a malignant narcissist like Trump. Sooner or later they will.clash. And Elmo will be gone.
I suspect Trump.likes the “pushing people around” part of being president, along with the adoring looks from.his cultists, but not the part where you have to actually think about consequences of your actions and whether it harms the country. Both Elmo and Donnie only care about optics and getting revenge on those who don’t worship them. Got news for you, guys, not all of those people you’re firing are Democrats. And 2026 isn’t that far off.