WHY GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS SHOULD BE DE-PRIVATIZED

Privatization of government functions gives a private entity control of a public good or service and is often inefficient and risky. The real goal is often to give businesses profits. Democrats need to reverse privatization. DOD contracts for mission critical capabilities need to be de-privatized.

SUMMARY: Privatization of government functions means giving a private entity control of or power over a public good or service. Privatization is often inefficient and can have safety and national security risks. The real goal of many privatization efforts is to give private businesses an opportunity to make profits. Democrats need to reverse decades of privatization to better serve the public. The companies the Department of Defense has contracted with to provide mission critical capabilities need to be nationalized, most notably Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

(Note: Please follow me and see my blog posts on Bluesky at: @jalippitt.bsky.social. Thanks!)

(Note: For lots of good news see Jess Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water blog’s most recent Sunday post here.)

Privatization of government functions or “outsourcing” means more than just contracting for a prison or selling off a municipal water system. It means giving a private entity control of or power over a public good or service – essential things we depend on including public health, clean air and water, safe food, good education, transportation, health care, utilities, and safety.

Privatization is often inefficient (i.e., costs more and/or delivers lower quality goods or services than public provision) and can have safety and national security risks. (See this previous post for more information.) Privatization tends to be inefficient because it adds a layer of management and profits onto public functions. Any cost savings typically come from paying workers less. Public transparency and control over the delivery of services are typically lost and, in addition, government can lose its capacity to deliver basic services. [1] Private, for-profit companies tend to cut corners and purposely avoid expensive to serve individuals to maximize profits, compromising quality and fairness.

The real goal of many privatization efforts is not greater efficiency but a desire of politicians to give private businesses an opportunity to make profits. Some politicians may believe that privatization will produce efficiencies despite significant evidence to the contrary. However, some politicians may be looking to curry favor with private companies and their executives who can give them campaign contributions.

Some examples of failed or unwarranted privatization (in addition to ones in this previous post) include:

Privatization of prisons and detention facilities (see posts here and here for more information)
Use of ID.me for logging in to government agencies and information (see this post for more information)
Use of CLEAR for expedited security clearance at airports. (TSA PreCheck is the public alternative which costs less than one-tenth as much.)
Vouchers for K-12 education in private schools. (They divert money from public schools and typically subsidize well-off parents who are already sending their children to private schools.)
Privatization of Medicare through so-called Medicare Advantage plans. (Public Medicare is much more efficient than the privatized plans (i.e., lower cost per patient and better outcomes). Medicare would save about $100 billion a year if these private plans were eliminated. See more information here, here, and here.)

Contracts, vouchers, and just allowing the private sector to provide a service (e.g., rail and bus transportation, electricity, and Internet and phone service) are not the only ways to privatize government functions. For example, federal policies have hamstrung the U.S. Postal Service, including prohibiting it from providing some services, to allow private companies to provide a significant portion of package delivery services. The Department of Defense and other government agencies have been taking ownership shares in private companies, such as strategic minerals, chip making, and small defense manufacturing companies. [2] (For detailed information about privatization and its many variants see In the Public Interest.) [3] (For more information on how the Trump administration has been taking ownership interests in private companies and exerting control over private companies in other ways see this previous post.)

It’s usually more efficient and almost always fairer to have government provide the public goods and services that meet essential public needs (e.g., education, health care, water, sewer, waste removal, electricity, communications, transportation, public safety, and defense). Decades of privatization need to be reversed to better serve the public.

When Democrats take control of Congress in January, they should immediately take steps to slow privatization with a goal of halting additional privatization in the short-term. Over the longer term, they should de-privatize important public functions, such as the provision of Medicare and eventually all of health care.

There are situations where the ownership of private companies should be taken over by the government, i.e., they should be nationalized. The clearest examples are companies the Department of Defense has contracted with to provide mission critical capabilities. Specifically, it has contracted critical satellite-based communications and intelligence capabilities to SpaceX, including use of its Starlink and Starshield communications systems. It is not wise or safe to have these capabilities in private hands, let alone the hands of Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX. He is a significant national security risk given his business interests, contacts, and engagement with Chinese leaders and investors. [4] Ownership of SpaceX needs to be taken over by the federal government. [5] (See this previous post for more information on Musk, SpaceX, and the national security risks they represent.)

[1] Kuttner, R., 10/13/26, “Time to de-privatize,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/2026/10/13/time-to-de-privatize-federal-government/)

[2] Groz, Z., 10/22/26, “As lawmakers scrutinize Pentagon equity deals, Pentagon keeps making them,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/2026/10/22/as-lawmakers-scrutinize-pentagon-equity-deals-pentagon-keeps-making-them/)

[3] See also Cohen, D., & Potter, C., 1/7/22, “Why privatization is worse than you know,” Public Seminar (https://publicseminar.org/essays/why-privatization-is-worse-than-you-know/), which, among other things, references the book, The Privatization of Everything, by Cohen and Mikaelian.

[4] Kaplan, J., & Elliott, J., 3/26/25, “How Elon Musk’s Space X secretly allows investments from China,” ProPublica (https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-spacex-allows-china-investment-cayman-islands-secrecy)

[5] Myerson, H., 10/22/26, “SpaceX is a de facto government agency. It should be nationalized.” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/2026/10/22/spacex-government-agency-nationalized-elon-musk-russia-ukraine-starlink/)

THE RISKS OF PRIVATIZING GOVERNMENT SERVICES

Privatization of government services, promoted by Republicans and some Democrats, rarely delivers greater efficiency. Over 40% of the federal government workforce are now private contractors. The DOD uses contractors extensively; its contracts with Musk’s SpaceX present national security risks.

SUMMARY: Privatization of government services has been promoted by Republicans and some Democrats for over 40 years. Their promises of greater efficiency rarely turn out to be true. Over 40% of the federal government’s workforce are now private contractors. The Department of Defense uses contractors extensively, including for sensitive, mission-critical functions. Its contracts with Elon Musk’s SpaceX company present serious national security risks.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

(Note: Please follow me and see my blog posts on Bluesky at: @jalippitt.bsky.social. Thanks!)

(Note: For lots of good news see Jess Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water blog’s most recent Sunday post here.)

Privatization of government services or “outsourcing” has been promoted by Republicans and some Democrats for over 40 years. Proponents claim it will save taxpayers money, improve public services, and increase public sector accountability. This rarely turns out to be true. Once the profit incentive is introduced, prices are likely to go up and quality is likely to go down. Privatization only tends to be successful if there is strong oversight and regulation, as well as real competition. (See this previous post for more details.)

Poor experiences with privatization at the municipal level led to a wave of de-privatization between 1997 and 2002. Nonetheless, privatization continued to march ahead at the federal level. (I’ve been criticizing privatization since way back in 2012. See previous posts here and here for more information.)

Numerous examples exist of privatization’s failure to deliver its promised benefits. The U.S. health care system is a classic one. The privatized, for-profit system in the U.S. is the costliest system among any of our peer countries and its outcomes are among the worst. All elements of the system are putting profits before patients. (See previous posts here and here for more information on the failures of for-profit health care.)

Other examples of failed privatization include:

Rail transportation is more efficient, dependable, and convenient in the rest of the world than with the privatized system in the U.S.
Bridges, roads, and parking meters that have been privatized by state and municipal governments often did not produce the desired results.
Water, sewer, and solid waste disposal systems’ privatization has been found in most studies to provide no cost or efficiency benefits.
Internet service is cheaper and faster where there are municipally run systems and in Europe.

Privatization is also evident in the increasing portion of the federal workforce that is contractors. The total federal government workforce of roughly 9.1 million people can be categorized as follows: [1]

3.7 million contractors (40.7%),
2.0 million civilian employees (22.0%),
1.6 million people paid through various grant programs (17.6%),
1.3 million active-duty military personnel (14.3%), and
0.5 million Postal Service employees (5.5%). [2]

The use of contractors by the Department of Defense (DOD) on the ground in war zones has gone largely unnoticed. However, more contractors have died (8,000) than US service members (7,000) in post 9/11 military activities. Contractors have become a permanent element of the military infrastructure. In the Middle East region, operational and battlefield contractors greatly outnumbered military personnel (43,800 contractors to 15,000 military) in October 2020. There were three contractors for each member of the military in Afghanistan at the end of U.S. involvement in August 2021. [3]

But the DOD’s privatization goes further and, as has become apparent recently, is jeopardizing national security and U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. DOD has billions of dollars of contracts with Elon Musk’s SpaceX company to provide critical military and national security capabilities. For example, Space X has a multi-billion-dollar contract to build a classified spy satellite network for the DOD. It also has contracts for communication services through Space X’s subsidiary, Starlink. [4]

Recently, Trump and Musk were limiting Ukraine’s use of Starlink and its military version, Starshield. Musk claims that Starshield is operated by the US government. The limitations that were imposed on these communications services prevented or slowed warnings of incoming Russian missiles and drones, and also degraded Ukraine’s offensive military capabilities. [5]

It seems likely that the U.S. DOD is similarly dependent on SpaceX communications capabilities. It doesn’t seem wise or safe to have privatized these DOD mission critical capabilities.

Furthermore, Musk is considered a significant national security risk by DOD and intelligence officials, as well as by other intelligence experts. [6] When Trump took office in 2025, there were three DOD investigations of Musk’s and Space X’s repeated failures to file mandatory national security reports of contacts and involvement with foreign entities. [7] Their significant contacts and engagement with Chinese leaders and investors make this a matter of serious concern. Space X has sizeable investments from Chinese investors, but because of its contracts with the DOD, Space X does not want its investments from Chinese investors to be public knowledge. Therefore, it actively works to make sure those investments are laundered through intermediate entities in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere, which keeps investors anonymous. [8]

Roughly half of Musk’s Tesla vehicles are built in China and China is Tesla’s largest market. Tesla’s largest factory is in Shanghai and its construction received a $2.8 billion investment, major tax breaks, and special permissions from the Chinese government. Musk regularly meets with Chinese government and Communist Party officials due to his multiple business interests, current and future, in China.

It seems quite clear that sensitive DOD capabilities should not be privatized to Musk’s company – or anyone else’s for that matter.

My next post will focus on the need to slow, stop, and eventually reverse the privatization of essential government functions.

[1] Gordon, N., 10/5/17, “Contractors and the true size of government,” Project On Government Oversight (https://www.pogo.org/analyses/contractors-and-true-size-of-government)

[2] Note: These data are from 2017, but overall these numbers have been relatively stable over time. If anything, the percentage of contractors has increased.

[3] Cancian, M., 8/30/21, “In Afghanistan, contractors were unsung heroes of US efforts,” Breaking Defense (https://breakingdefense.com/2021/08/in-afghanistan-contractors-were-unsung-heroes-of-us-efforts/)

[4] Elordi, M., 10/21/24, “Elon Musk’s companies have faced at least 20 federal probes,” Daily Wire (https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musks-companies-have-faced-at-least-20-federal-probes-report)

[5] Roth, A. 10/14/26, “Ukrainian military’s access to Starlink satellite internet suddenly restricted,” The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/14/ukraine-soldiers-combat-access-starlink-satellite-internet-restricted)

[6] Reich, R., 3/21/25, “Is the Muskrat working for China?” Robert Reich blog (https://robertreich.substack.com/p/is-the-muskrat-working-for-china )

[7] House Committee on the Judiciary, 2/13/25, “Fact Sheet: Trump administration, DOGE punish agencies investigating Elon Musk’s companies,” (https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2025.02.13_fact_sheet_re_musk_investigations.pdf

[8] Kaplan, J., & Elliott, J., 3/26/25, “How Elon Musk’s Space X secretly allows investments from China,” ProPublica (https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-spacex-allows-china-investment-cayman-islands-secrecy)

THE ESCALATING CORRUPTION IN OUR ELECTIONS

The corruption of Trump and his cronies is omnipresent. The November elections are an opportunity for election and campaign contribution corruption. Trump is using government money in efforts to buy votes, while big campaign contributors get tangible benefits from the Trump administration.

SUMMARY: The corruption of Trump and his cronies is omnipresent. The upcoming November elections have become another opportunity for both new and old types of election and campaign contribution corruption. Trump has made multiple promises to give – and in some cases has delivered – government money directly to voters in both explicit and implicit efforts to buy votes. The linkages between campaign contributions and tangible benefits from the Trump administration are more numerous and blatant than in the past. Just 172 billionaires have spent $1.7 billion on the 2026 elections already.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

(Note: Please follow me and see my blog posts on Bluesky at: @jalippitt.bsky.social. Thanks!)

The corruption of Trump and his cronies is omnipresent and is happening through many different avenues. The upcoming November elections have become another opportunity for both new and old types of election and campaign contribution corruption.

In a new form of election corruption, Trump has made multiple promises to give – and in some cases has delivered – government money directly to voters in both explicit and implicit efforts to buy votes. He’s doing this far more brazenly and blatantly than any other politician I can think of in at least the last 50 years. Here are the most notable examples: [1]

In October, sent $90 to over 20 million seniors enrolled in Medicare. To pay for this, the Trump administration is diverting money from the $2 billion Medicare Improvement Fund, which is supposed to be used to improve Medicare services. The Trump administration’s rationale for making these payments is that “the best way to improve Medicare is to put healthcare dollars back where they belong – in the hands of our Medicare beneficiaries – and make coverage more affordable.”
In September, sent $500 to roughly 1 million Americans who were supposedly overcharged when they purchased health care under the Affordable Care Act during the Biden administration. (Note: Trump and Congressional Republicans terminated the subsidies for purchasing health care under the Affordable Care Act that the Biden administration had put in place. This led to health insurance costs increasing dramatically for millions of people and millions dropped their health insurance as a result.)
Will give $1,000 to all children born from 1/1/25 – 12/31/28 (i.e., during Trump’s second term) whose families open “Trump Accounts” on their behalf. These tax-free accounts, which others can add to, have also been called “money account for growth and advancement” or MAGA accounts. Wealthy individuals have pledged to help fund these accounts, which appears to be a blatant effort to curry favor with Trump. I received an email from the Social Security Administration on October 21 promoting the “Trump Accounts” and stating that they are available to nearly 70 million American children. (Note: These accounts were created by the July 2025 Big Beautiful Budget Bill that also cut food assistance, health care subsidies, and other spending that supported children and their families.)
In September, Trump announced that every American citizen would receive $5,000 if Republicans retained control of the U.S. House and Senate.

With an eye on the November 2026 mid-term elections, Republicans in Congress and Trump scheduled implementation of many of the spending cuts in the July 2025 Big Beautiful Budget Bill to occur after the election. In addition to the above payoffs, Trump has said on more than one occasion that Americans would receive a tariff dividend of at least $2,000 sometime in 2026. This appears unlikely to happen.

The more traditional corruption of campaign contributions and spending – traditional since the Supreme Court in 2010 allowed unlimited spending by wealthy individuals and corporations – has grown in size and explicitness. Perhaps most notable and explicit has been Elon Musk’s spending of at least $276 million in an effort to keep Republicans in control of Congress. (This is as of early October. Newer reports put it at $445 million.) Musk’s money comes from his ownership in a number of companies including Tesla and SpaceX. The value of his companies and his wealth is based on tens of billions of dollars of government contracts and subsidies. [2] (Note: As you probably remember, Musk spent at least $250 million to help Trump get elected in 2024 and was rewarded with effectively a co-presidency role and leadership of DOGE for several months, as well as with government contracts worth billions.)

Linkages between campaign contributions and tangible benefits from the Trump administration are more numerous and blatant than in the past. The Center for American Progress has tracked the contributions to MAGA Inc., Trump’s main political action committee (PAC), and the benefits donors have received. Overall, MAGA Inc. has raised over $400 million in contributions of over $100,000. Just 108 donors contributed 79% of this total (an average of $3 million each) and each one received a tangible benefit from Trump or the government. Here are some highlights:

65 donors of roughly $97 million benefited from regulatory actions affecting the companies in which they work or invest.
20 donors who along with friends and relatives contributed $88 million received appointments to government agency and advisory board positions; sometimes ones that had influence over the industries in which they work or invest.
7 donors of $79 million had investigations or enforcement actions terminated or reversed.
6 donors of $42 million received government contracts worth at least $11 billion.
2 donors who contributed $4.5 million were connected to presidential pardons.

An analysis of the industries that are contributing – and looking for favorable actions from the government – finds the following:

Crypto companies and executives contributed $88 million
AI and data center builders contributed $37 million
Fossil fuel companies and executives contributed $30 million
Nursing home companies and executives contributed $10 million
Health insurance and benefits companies contributed $6 million

This is just for MAGA Inc. So, both in terms of campaign spending and the corruption of Trump and his administration, this is just a tip of an iceberg. As of early October, the 15 billionaires spending the most on the 2026 elections have contributed roughly $1 billion (about $67 million each on average). The next 157 biggest billionaire spenders have spent a total of approximately $700 million. Over half of MAGA Inc.’s money is coming from these 172 billionaires. [3] These numbers have grown by hundreds of millions of dollars since this analysis was done and will continue to grow until election day.

For lots of good news see Jess Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water blog’s most recent good news Sunday post here.

[1] Metzger, B., Edmonds, L., & Hennessey, G., 10/1/26, “Here’s all the free money Trump’s talked about giving Americans during his second term – and where it all stands,” Business Insider (https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-checks-free-money-status-doge-tariff-rebate-warrior-dividend-2025-12)

[2] Cox Richardson, H., 10/21/26, “”Letters from an American blog,” (https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-21-2026)

[3] Johnson, J., 10/7/26, “172 billionaire families have spent record $1.7 billion on 2026 midterms so far: Analysis,” Common Dreams (https://www.commondreams.org/news/billionaire-family-spending-2026)

MUSK AND DOGE ARE FAILURES

Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are failures. They haven’t even managed to reduce federal spending, let alone reduce waste, fraud, and abuse, or increase government efficiency – according to Jeff Jacoby, a quite conservative columnist for the Boston Globe.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are failures. Don’t take my word for it, according to Jeff Jacoby, a quite conservative columnist for the Boston Globe (with whom I almost never agree), they have failed at the most basic of their goals: reducing federal government spending. [1]

It may be debatable whether Musk and DOGE had any intention of reducing waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government, or of increasing government efficiency, or even just cutting government spending. However, the results are clear: they accomplished none of these things. (See previous posts about their successes in benefiting Musk and his companies, as well as their failure to focus on the places where waste, fraud, abuse, and inefficiency are widespread, namely the Defense Department and private, for-profit government contractors.)

First, Jacoby recapitulates Musk’s own statements. Initially, Musk said he would cut at least $2 trillion in government spending. In March, he said DOGE would deliver $1 trillion in spending cuts by the end of May. At an April 10 cabinet meeting, he said he was anticipating savings of $150 billion. The DOGE website lists only $71 billion in spending cuts.

However, the Treasury Department’s report on federal spending says that spending in February and March was $86 billion MORE (up 7%) than in the same months last year. Jacoby notes that Musk and DOGE have not touched programs that account for three-quarters of the federal budget: Social Security payments (as opposed to staff), Medicare and Medicaid health care, the Defense Department, veterans’ benefits, and the interest on the national debt. The Congressional Budget Office reported separately that the federal budget deficit for this fiscal year has increased by about $200 billion in the first seven months of the year.

Although DOGE appears to have reduced or planned reductions of 121,000 federal employees, the cost of the entire civilian workforce of the federal government is only $336 billion. Given that there were three million government employees when Trump took office, assuming these reductions occur, this would reduce the workforce by only 4%. Ignoring severance and any other separation costs, this would save only about $13.5 billion – nowhere near the $2 trillion of promised savings.

Jacoby states that Musk and DOGE have “not made a dent in the vast amount of money the government annually loses to fraud and abuse – as much as $521 billion … It has not clawed back any of the improper payments disbursed by Medicare and Medicaid, which amounted to $101 billion in 2023.” (My bolding.) Trump, Musk, and the Republicans in their party platform, in the campaign, and once Trump was in office promised to slash wasteful government spending. Jacoby closes by noting, “That’s a promise the GOP always makes when it’s out of power and never keeps when it regains control.”

I couldn’t have said this better myself!

[1] Jacoby, J., 5/18/25, “Why Musk flopped,” The Boston Globe

MUSK AND TRUMP ARE ENGAGED IN CORRUPT SELF-ENRICHMENT

Musk and Trump are corruptly lining their own pockets by ending or weakening investigations, enforcement, and regulation of Musk’s companies, as well as providing them with new government contracts. They’re also endangering workers, the public, and our national security.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

My previous post provided an overview of the 32 (or more) ongoing investigations of Elon Musk’s six companies when Trump was sworn into office. It also noted that Musk has obtained much of his enormous wealth through government subsidies and contracts – over $38 billion in the last 20 years. In 2023, Space X and Tesla got almost $3 billion from 100 contracts with 17 federal agencies. [1] These include substantial contracts with the Department of Defense (DOD). Space X has a multi-billion-dollar contract to build a classified spy satellite network for the DOD. It also has contracts for communication services through Space X’s subsidiary, Starlink.

Needless to say, Musk’s role with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) presents huge conflicts of interest that are illegal. He would be swiftly barred from this work and/or prosecuted under any president other than Trump. Instead, Trump and Musk are systematically undermining the agencies that regulate businesses, including Musk’s, to keep workers, consumers, and the public safe. This deregulation results in windfall profits for Musk, Trump, members of Trump’s cabinet, and other wealthy business executives and investors. This is outright oligarchic corruption with wealthy business people funneling government money and benefits to themselves and their cronies.

Musk is lining his own pockets as a government contractor and businessman in two main ways:

Dismantling or emasculating agencies that regulate his business activities, often ending on-going investigations and enforcement actions, and
Having the Trump administration award his companies billions of dollars in new contracts, while continuing to pay billions of dollars to his companies under existing contracts.

Actions by Musk, DOGE, and Trump to block or weaken regulation, investigations, and sanctions of Musk’s companies include:

Firing members of the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, and others at the Department of Labor in order to hobble their 24 investigations into violations of workers’ rights at Musk’s companies.
Cutting staff at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that was investigating fatal crashes of Tesla vehicles and had ordered recalls of hundreds of thousands of Tesla vehicles due to safety issues.
Emasculating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that
- Was reviewing over 300 complaints about Tesla’s financing entity, and
- Would have oversight of the digital payment service Musk wants to add to his social media platform, X.
Slashing the workforce at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that is suing Space X over worker safety and investigating it for violations related to its rocket launches.
Firing workers at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that was investigating Musk’s Neuralink company for violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
Eliminating USAID that was reviewing its contract with Space X subsidiary, Starlink, for communication services in Ukraine.
Firing over a dozen Inspectors General, which has reduced oversight of government contractors, among other negative effects. The firings of Inspectors General at the Defense Department most likely disrupted or ended an investigation into Space X’s contracts.
Presumably ending the three DOD investigations of Musk’s and Space X’s repeated failures to file mandatory national security reports of contacts and involvement with foreign entities. This is one small effect of Trump’s politicization of the DOD, e.g., his appointments of political loyalists such as Hegseth as Secretary of Defense and Caine as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Musk and Space X have significant contacts and engagement with Chinese leaders and investors. This is one reason that their failure to make required national security reports is a matter of serious concern. Space X has sizeable investments from Chinese investors, but because of its contracts with the DOD, Space X does not want its investments from Chinese investors to be public knowledge. Therefore, it actively works to make sure those investments are laundered through intermediate entities in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere, which keeps investors anonymous. [2]

Roughly half of Musk’s Tesla vehicles are built in China and China is Tesla’s largest market. Tesla’s largest factory is in Shanghai and its construction received a $2.8 billion investment, major tax breaks, and special permissions from the Chinese government. Musk regularly meets with Chinese government and Communist Party officials due to his multiple business interests, current and future, in China.

Needless to say, Musk is considered a significant national security risk by DOD and intelligence officials and experts. Nonetheless, Musk had scheduled a private meeting with Secretary of Defense Hegseth and others for a briefing on top secret U.S. preparations for conflict with China. The briefing was apparently scrapped after knowledge of it became public. [3]

Notwithstanding all the above, the Trump administration has awarded or announced plans to award (it’s sometimes hard to tell the difference due to Trump’s and Musk’s frequent distortions of facts) Musk’s companies multiple new contracts. The FAA recently announced its intention to engage Space X subsidiary Starlink in a $2 billion contract to upgrade air traffic control systems. There were plans for the State Department to order $400 million worth of armored Teslas. The contract was backdated to make it look like it was awarded before Trump took office. The contract is apparently now on hold.

It’s abundantly clear that Musk, Trump, and their cronies are lining their pockets at taxpayers’ expense and at significant risk to the public. I urge you to contact your US Representative and Senators and ask them to call out and take whatever actions they can to stop the corrupt self-enrichment of Musk and Trump. You can find contact information for your US Representative at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and for your US Senators at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.

[1] Elordi, M., 10/21/24, “Elon Musk’s companies have faced at least 20 federal probes,” Daily Wire (https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musks-companies-have-faced-at-least-20-federal-probes-report)

[2] Kaplan, J., & Elliott, J., 3/26/25, “How Elon Musk’s Space X secretly allows investments from China,” ProPublica (https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-spacex-allows-china-investment-cayman-islands-secrecy)

[3] Reich, R., 3/21/25, “Is the Muskrat working for China?” Robert Reich blog (https://robertreich.substack.com/p/is-the-muskrat-working-for-china )

MUSK AND DOGE ARE ALL ABOUT CORRUPT SELF-ENRICHMENT

Musk, DOGE, and Trump do not care about efficiency & reducing waste. They’re not targeting for-profit contractors, which is where the bulk of fraud & waste occurs. They’re focused on ending investigations & enforcement actions against Musk’s companies, letting Musk corruptly line his own pockets.

Musk, his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and Trump do not care about efficiency and reducing government waste. They’re not targeting for-profit government contractors, which is where the bulk of fraud and waste occurs. Instead, they’re focused on ending investigations of and enforcement actions against Musk’s companies, and providing them with new government contracts. Musk is corruptly lining his own pockets.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is not focused on efficiency and reducing government waste. DOGE’s haphazard actions of laying off workers and dismantling government programs, processes, and agencies that Musk and Trump don’t like are actually decreasing efficiency. (See previous posts here and here for more detail.) Musk and Trump are focused on lining their own pockets, i.e., on corrupt self-enrichment.

Contrary to Musk’s and Trump’s claims that the government workforce is bloated, the federal government had fewer employees before Trump took office (3 million) than at its peak in 1990 (3.1 million), despite significant growth in the responsibilities of the government. Federal government employees were 4.3% of the U.S. workforce in 1960; they’re just 1.9% of the workforce today. In general, government agencies are understaffed, due to budgetary restrictions.

If Musk, Trump, and DOGE were serious about increasing government efficiency, they would be targeting for-profit government contractors – like Musk’s companies. Before looking specifically at Musk’s companies, overall, the major sources of waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending are contractors for military hardware and services, and insurance companies that are contractors providing Medicare coverage through so-called Medicare Advantage programs. It’s estimated that 40% of the people working for the federal government are contractors and not employees. For example, in 2019, in Iraq and Afghanistan, there were 50% more U.S. contractors than U.S. soldiers.

Between 2013 and 2023, spending on government contractors grew by nearly 63%. This reflects the mistaken belief by many that private, for-profit contractors are more efficient than government employees. A 2011 study found that contractors are overpaid in comparison to government workers and that when waste and fraud are identified in government programs it is often for-profit contractors that are the culprits. A 1994 Defense Department Inspector General’s report had similar findings.

For-profit contractors are seeking to maximize profit. They do this by maximizing their prices and minimizing their costs, which generally means minimizing the quality of services and products delivered. Contractors are exempt from transparency and accountability laws that cover government programs, making waste, fraud, and abuse hard to identify, eliminate, and punish. Contractors also violate the law with shocking regularity and repetitiveness. Defense contractor RTX (formerly Raytheon) averages over five sanctions per year for illegal activities. Insurance companies operating Medicare Advantage programs regularly and repetitively engage in fraudulent billing of the government. (See this previous post for more detail.)

To feather their own nests, government contractors spend millions lobbying the government and send employees through the revolving door to work in government roles often overseeing their contracts or work. In 2024, the ten largest federal government contractors spent $71 million lobbying the hand that feeds them. They also spent $8.5 million in the 2023-24 election cycle on contributions to federal candidates’ campaigns, although this is technically illegal. They circumvent laws banning contractors contributing to campaigns by setting up supposedly independent political action committees (PACs).

Musk is lining his own pockets as a government contractor and businessman in two main ways:

Dismantling or emasculating agencies that regulate his business activities, often ending on-going investigations and enforcement actions, and
Having the Trump administration award his companies billions of dollars in new contracts, while continuing to pay billions of dollars under existing contracts.

Musk has obtained much of his enormous wealth through government subsidies and contracts. His companies have received over $38 billion in government funding over the last 20 years. Currently, among other things, Musk’s Space X company is receiving billions of dollars a year from NASA for rocket launches and from the Department of Defense (DOD) for satellite launches and Starlink communications services. Musk’s Tesla vehicle company got significant funding from the Department of Energy for its development of electric cars. (Note: This support was called wasteful by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.) [1] In 2023, Space X and Tesla got almost $3 billion from 100 contracts with 17 federal agencies. [2]

When Trump was sworn into office, Musk’s six companies were the subject of more than 32 ongoing investigations by at least 11 federal agencies. The agencies conducting these enforcement actions are being emasculated by Musk, DOGE, and Trump. Therefore, these investigations and potential penalties from them are now likely to be ended. This means Musk’s companies are now worth far more than before because they are no longer threatened with government penalties or constraints on their operations. As their major shareholder, Musk is a huge winner. [3]

The enforcement actions against Musk and his companies included: [4]

A Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit accusing Musk and his companies of violating federal securities laws.
A lawsuit by the Federal Aviation Administration accusing him and his rocket company, Space X, of violating worker safety.
24 separate investigations by the National Labor Relations Board into violations of workers’ rights.
Over a dozen investigations of Tesla and Space X for unfair labor practices, safety violations, and workplace discrimination by various agencies of the Department of Labor.
Several open investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into safety issues with Tesla vehicles.
An investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which had fined Space X for previous violations, for issues with its rocket launches, including post-launch explosions that had interrupted air traffic and spread debris and toxic pollution in the atmosphere.
At least three investigations by the DOD of Musk and Space X for repeatedly failing to meet reporting requirements aimed at protecting national security, including reporting information on Musk’s meeting with foreign leaders. This non-compliance with national security protocols has led to investigations by the DOD Inspector General (now fired), by the Air Force, and by the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.

My next post will discuss actions by Musk, DOGE, and Trump to block regulation, investigations, and sanctions of Musk companies; Musk’s and Space X’s China connections; and new government contracts for Musk’s companies.

[1] Heinz, B., 4/1/25, “Rule by contractor: DOGE is not about waste and efficiency – it’s about privatization,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/power/2025-04-03-rule-by-contractor-doge-privatization/)

[2] Elordi, M., 10/21/24, “Elon Musk’s companies have faced at least 20 federal probes,” Daily Wire (https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musks-companies-have-faced-at-least-20-federal-probes-report)

[3] Reich, R., 2/11/25, “Fraud and Musk,” Robert Reich blog (https://robertreich.substack.com/p/fraud)

[4] House Committee on the Judiciary, 2/13/25, “Fact Sheet: Trump administration, DOGE punish agencies investigating Elon Musk’s companies,” (https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2025.02.13_fact_sheet_re_musk_investigations.pdf

PROTEST NATIONAL SECURITY BREACH ETC.

ACTION #1: Please contact your US Representative and Senators to ask them to demand a full investigation of the major national security breach around the March 15 military attack in Yemen. They should demand the resignations, firings, or impeachment of the officials involved. There’s NO EXCUSE for them communicating secret military plans over an unsecure, commercial messaging app whose use is SPECIFICALLY PROHIBITED by Defense Department policy. Included in the chat group were the:

Secretaries of Defense and State,
President’s National Security Advisor and Chief of Staff,
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director and the Director of National Intelligence,
Vice President, and others.

Any government employee of lower status who engaged in such a breach of security would be immediately jailed without bail. The incompetence, inexperience, lack of qualifications, and cavalier attitude toward sensitive information by these senior officials is stunning, egregious, and unacceptable. I will have more detail on this in my next post.

You can find contact information for your US Representative at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and for your US Senators at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.

Note that many offices only accept messages on a voice mail system. In most cases, you can call outside of regular business hours and leave a message.

ACTION #2: Join a protest rally or march in-person if you can.

Big, nationwide HANDS OFF! protests are planned for Saturday, April 5. Go to Indivisible to find an event near you. Let’s make this a huge event!
Nationwide protest rallies at Tesla dealerships this Saturday, March 29. Put in your zip code at #TeslaTakedown and find a rally near you. These rallies have been very effective. They’ve gained media attention, and, as I’m sure you’ve heard, Tesla sales and its stock price are down substantially.

RESISTANCE AND PROTEST ACTIONS

ACTION #1: Please contact your US Representative and Senators regularly to thank them for what they do right and encourage them to resist and protest the harmful and/or illegal actions of the Trump administration and Musk. For example:

If they’ve held an in-person or virtual town hall meeting for constituents, thank them. If they have not, ask them to. Or ask them to hold another one. Participate if you can. Call their office afterwards and give them feedback on it.
Ask them to publicly condemn the Trump administration for its failure to comply with judges’ orders and to call for congressional hearings on the Trump administration’s failure to comply with court orders and requests for information.
If they are Democrats, ask them to form a shadow cabinet that would provide a daily critique of the actions of the Trump administration and its cabinet secretaries. They should state what Democrats would do differently and how that would benefit the American people.
Ask them to oppose the elimination of funding for our libraries from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This is the only federal government agency that supports libraries.
Or whatever else is on your mind or in the news.

Note that many offices only accept messages on a voice mail system. In most cases, you can call outside of regular business hours and leave a message.

ACTION #2: Join a protest rally or march in-person if you can. Big, nationwide protests are planned for Saturday, April 5, and there are many protests planned before then. Several national organizations, some with local chapters, are promoting the April 5 event as well as publicizing and organizing other protests. Here are some opportunities to find protests near you:

Indivisible is highlighting the April 5^th event and will help you find an event near you. It has local chapters you can join and other actions you can be part of. Here’s a list of Indivisible Protests near you.
#TeslaTakedown. Put in your zip code and find a protest at a Tesla dealer near you. These rallies have been very effective. They’ve gained media attention, and, as I’m sure you’ve heard, Tesla sales and its stock price are down substantially.
50501 is a grassroots organization listing protests organized by independent activists across the nation. It’s promoting the April 5^th event, will link you to protests in your state, and allows you to add a protest to its list of actions.
Mobilize is a clearinghouse for protests and will help you find one near you. It also has online events, phone banking, petitions to sign and other quick actions, groups you can join, and volunteer opportunities.

HEROES OF THE RESISTANCE

The resistance to Trump, Musk, and Republicans is growing. You are all heroes for whatever you’ve contributed to the resistance. There are many heroes, including federal workers who work diligently despite the chaos and threats, as well as those who have resigned or resisted being fired to protest. — Version 1.0.0

The resistance to the Trump administration, Musk and DOGE, and the Republicans in Congress is growing. You are all heroes for whatever actions you’ve contributed to the resistance. There are some heroes that I would like to highlight, including federal workers, some who continue to diligently do their jobs despite the chaos, threats, and demeaning actions of the Trump administration and some who have resigned or resisted being fired to protest.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

The resistance is growing. Thank you for your participation! Thank you for pushing back and supporting the resistance in whatever ways you can, from donating money to in-person protesting to honking or waving in support of protesters you’ve seen. I hope you’re seeing, hearing about, and feeling the resistance from many people in many ways. I hope you’ve contacted your members of Congress to ask them to block or protest onerous actions of the Trump administration.

I hope you’ve participated in, seen, or read about the town hall meetings where both Republican and Democratic members of Congress have gotten strong pushback from their constituents. I imagine you’ve heard that the Republican leaders in Congress have recommended that their members NOT hold town hall meetings because of all the negative feedback they’re getting. That’s the result of all the feedback you and others have been delivering in-person and via all the various communication modes.

You’re all heroes of the resistance!

Another hero is Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, who spoke to Trump directly at the National Prayer Service after his inauguration and asked him to show mercy for immigrants and LGBTQ+ individuals. I hope other religious leaders will call out the inhumanity of many of the actions of the Trump administration. I urge you to ask religious leaders you interact with to stand up and speak out.

I want to highlight for you a few of the heroes in our federal government workforce. But first I’d like to acknowledge and thank every federal worker who’s on the job every day working hard to serve the American people despite the demeaning rhetoric and threats from Trump, Musk, and others. Many of them are working to hold the Trump administration accountable, but unfortunately we will never know about most of them and what they’ve done on our behalf. It’s important to acknowledge that, despite threats and risks, many of them are doing heroic work. It’s good for them to know we’ve got their backs and for us to know they’re pushing back from the inside as we’re pushing back from the outside. See We the builders for more on federal workers and how they and their unions are pushing back.

Nicholas Enrich was the acting assistant administrator for global health at USAID until March 2 when he was abruptly put on leave. He is a hero for working to keep programs functioning despite a workforce slashed from 783 to less than 70. And despite the freeze on funding. Funds were supposedly freed up by temporary waivers from the Secretary of State for lifesaving assistance. Enrich tried repeatedly to make the waivers work but was blocked at every turn.

He and others wrote a series of memos, which became public, documenting what was happening and what the impact would be. Despite his diligent work, Enrich was put on leave. [1]

The memos share estimates that without USAID’s work and funding more than 16 million pregnant women and more than 11 million newborns will not get medical care; more than 14 million children will not get care for pneumonia and diarrhea (among the top causes of preventable deaths for children under the age of 5); 200,000 children will be paralyzed with polio; 1 million children will not be treated for severe malnutrition; and 2.3 million children a year will die because they will not get vaccinated. There will be at least an additional 12.5 million cases of malaria this year, leading to 71,000 to 166,000 avoidable deaths.

USAID leaders estimated there will be a roughly 30% increase in cases of tuberculosis (TB). The increased tuberculosis infections and disruptions to treatment will cause TB to develop drug resistance, making future treatment options more difficult and costly. This will inevitably lead to more cases in the U.S. USAID staff forecast about 80 additional cases of multi-drug-resistant TB in the U.S. each year as a result. These cases will cost the U.S. millions in tax dollars because it costs roughly $500,000 to treat someone with drug-resistant TB.

There are many judges and public prosecutors who are heroes. Among them are U.S. District Judge Amir Ali. He has now ordered the Trump administration four times to pay the $2 billion owed to USAID contractors. U.S. District Judges William Alsup, Amy Berman Jackson, James Bredan, Tanya Chutkan, Jesse Furman, Beryl Howell, and Lauren King are also heroes. [2]

Eight senior prosecutors at the Department of Justice (DOJ) resigned rather than present a motion to dismiss the charges against NY Mayor Eric Adams. Danielle Sassoon, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of NY, led the way by resigning when ordered by deputy U.S. Attorney General Emil Bove to file for dismissal of the case against Adams, apparently in exchange for Adams’s agreement to help the Trump administration implement its anti-immigrant policies. Kevin Briscoll, John Keller, Hagan Scotten, and four others also resigned. [3]

Trump has attempted to fire 18 Inspector Generals (IGs) in various departments of the federal government. At least eight of them have filed suits claiming they were fired illegally. The IGs’ role is explicitly to ensure effective and efficient operation of their agencies by detecting and preventing waste, fraud, and abuse, while making recommendations for enhanced functioning. Their track records are impressive. Here’s a list of some of them and some highlights of their work: [4]

Robert Storch, Dept. of Defense, 281 reports, 970 recommendations, $10.8 billion impact.
Michael Missal, Dept. of Veterans Affairs, 10,000 recommendations, $45 billion impact.
Christi Grimm, Dept. Health and Human Services, 1,300 reports, $18.5 billion impact.
Carde Richardson, Dept. of State, $17 million impact in 8 months.
Sandra Bruce, Dept. of Education, 739 recommendations, $1.2 billion impact.
Larry Turner, Labor Dept., 400 recommendations, $75 billion impact.
Mike Ware, Small Business Administration and acting at the Social Security Administration, $14 billion impact plus $30 billion seized or returned to the U.S. Treasury.
Paul Martin, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), documented the waste of funding and aid, as well as the impaired functioning of USAID, based on Musk’s interference and personnel cuts, among other things.
Phyllis Fong, Dept. of Agriculture, 7,250 reports, $19 billion impact. She refused to leave when fired and had to be dragged from her office. Among other things, she was investigating Musk’s company, Neuralink.

Here’s a quick list of some other heroes: [5]

Denise Cheung, a senior DOJ attorney, resigned after refusing to launch a fraudulent criminal investigation into grantees of an environmental program.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and Georgia District Attorney Fani Wills each prosecuted Trump despite threats and personal attacks.
Brian Driscoll, acting FBI Director, and his deputy, Robert Kissane, refused a DOJ order to assist in firing FBI employees who had investigated the January 6 insurrection.
Ellen Weintraub, chair of the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), is resisting Trump’s illegal attempt to remove her.
Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel, which protects whistleblowers and enforces the prohibition on federal employees engaging in political activity, is suing Trump for firing him illegally.
Gwynne Wilcox, chair of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), is suing Trump for illegally firing her. By firing her, Trump made the NLRB unable to function because it lacks the quorum necessary to make decisions. By the way, there are 24 cases against Musk companies pending before the NLRB. (Note: She was recently reinstated by a judge’s ruling.)
And many, many more.

[1] Murphy, B., & Barry-Jester, A. M., 3/3/25, “Internal memos: Senior USAID leaders warned Trump appointees of hundreds of thousands of deaths from closing agency,” ProPublica (https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doge-rubio-usaid-musk-death-toll-malaria-polio-tuberculosis)

[2] Reich, R., 3/3/25, “The Trump-Vance-Musk-Putin manosphere,” Robert Reich blog (https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-trump-vance-musk-putin-manosphere)

[3] Ifill, S., 2/28/25, “When lawyers stand up,” The Contrarian (https://contrarian.substack.com/p/when-lawyers-stand-up)

[4] Rubin, J., 2/14/25, “Undaunted,” The Contrarian (https://contrarian.substack.com/p/undaunted-aea)

[5] Reich, R., 2/13/25, “Profiles in courage,” Robert Reich blog (https://robertreich.substack.com/p/profiles-in-courage)

RESIST! OUR DEMOCRACY IS IN DANGER

These are unprecedented and dangerous times for our democracy. Things are worse than I thought they’d be. President Trump and co-President Musk are hard at work attempting a coup to establish a dictatorship. They want to create chaos, fear, and despair, while breaking our government and destroying our democratic institutions. We as citizens of a democracy must take action to resist the coup and the would-be dictators. There are a very wide range of actions you can take. See options below.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

In November, just after the election, I wrote, “This is a post I never thought I’d write. In January, the United States of America will unequivocally become a plutocratic oligarchy with strong elements of fascism. … we and our country are in for some dark and difficult times. Take care of yourself and nurture the strength for the fights ahead.

I’m not giving up hope or the values and principles I espouse in this blog. Things will get worse, perhaps much worse, before we can turn things around. The fight for democracy has often been hard, and, as I’ve written before, democracy is not a spectator sport.

After a period of mourning and to rest and recuperate from the shock and horror, we all need to get to work fighting for our democracy and the vulnerable members of our society.” (The post is here.)

Well, things are worse than I thought they’d be. I never thought I’d write that there’s a bloodless (so far) coup underway and that our President (and co-President) are hard at work attempting to establish a dictatorship.

Needless to say, these are unprecedented and dangerous times for our democracy. President Trump’s and co-President Musk’s actions have been far more aggressive, far-reaching, and damaging than I think anyone expected. Trump seems to be focused on foreign matters and Musk on domestic ones.

Their goal is clearly to create chaos, fear, and despair. They’re trying to break our government and destroy our democratic institutions. They don’t care about democracy, the rule of law, or anyone but themselves and their cronies.

In the maelstrom of all they’re doing, it’s important to sort the wheat from the chaff and focus on what’s having a crucial, and generally immediate, effect. A lot of what Trump is doing and saying is just hot air and smoke meant to distract from the really important actions.

Right now, I’d urge us to focus on the coup (that is what it is) they’re executing by single-handedly and illegally asserting control over government agencies and spending. We also need to focus on their efforts to destroy the rule of law, which is a cornerstone of democracy and an essential element of their coup.

They’re asserting dictatorial powers over the federal government and its spending, denying any role for Congress. So much for the checks and balances between the legislative and executive branches of government clearly spelled out in the Constitution. (By the way, don’t believe for a second that Trump and Musk have any allegiance to or intent to uphold the Constitution. When Trump swore at his inauguration to uphold the Constitution, that was the first lie of his second term.)

They’re flouting privacy laws by accessing information and data, including your and my personal data, without any authorization. They’re making each of us and our country less safe and secure. With the chaos they have caused at the Department of Justice and the FBI, we are more at risk for everything from ordinary crime to identity theft. Their breaching of sensitive federal government computer systems makes the government and each of us more vulnerable to hackers and cybercrime. The focus of the Secretary of Defense on the Mexican border and purging diversity, equity, inclusion, and transgender individuals from the military has diverted attention from real foreign threats. This makes us more vulnerable to terrorism and foreign attacks of all kinds.

Oh, and by the way, none of their actions have done anything to reduce inflation or bring down the price of groceries. Quite to the contrary, Trump’s spat and threatened tariffs on Columbia have spiked the price of coffee. And the failure and anticipated failure of the CDC to tackle the bird flu, have spiked the price of eggs. Not to mention the impact of tariffs on prices.

We as citizens of a democracy must take action to resist the coup and the would-be dictators. There are a very wide range of actions you can take; there’s something everyone can do, and every little bit helps.

I encourage you to contact your U.S. Representative and your Senators. Urge them to do whatever they can to block the illegal actions and coup by President Trump and co-President Musk. Call if you can (and if their voice mailboxes aren’t full) and try both local and Washington phone numbers. Or email them using their contact forms or email addresses. (You can find contact information for your US Representative at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and for your US Senators at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.)

Here are some other ways to protest and resist. I also encourage you to be creative and come up with your own.

Wear a button, a T-shirt with a message, and/or a color symbolic of resistance.
Boycott X (formerly Twitter), Tesla, Amazon, The Washington Post, Facebook, etc. and/or protest in front of stores of companies that are capitulating to Trump.
Communicate. Talk to others, like and share resistance messaging on social media, and/or send letters to the editor of media outlets or submit online comments.
Join the protests in the streets.
Support those protesting and those resisting (e.g., government employees Trump and Musk are trying to fire, lawyers and non-profits filing lawsuits, etc.).
Give financial support to media that are standing up to Trump, to lawyers and organizations who are suing Trump and Musk, and to those organizing protests.
Get organizations you belong to and their leaders to speak out, e.g., religious organizations and clergy.