President Musk

As the cabinet for Donald Trump’s second term shapes up, the letter “B” keeps popping up. “B” as in “billionaire.” At this writing, no fewer than 13 billionaires will be at Trump’s elbow recommending policies that will affect the rest of us mac-n-cheese eating slobs.

Of course, the most prominent of these is Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. Musk spent much of the campaign dancing (awkwardly) alongside Trump at his rallies and dropping copious amounts of cash into the war chest (an estimated $250 million). And now it’s time to cash in.

Musk has made headlines by being attached to Trump like the barnacles on Jeff Bezos’ superyacht. He’s constantly at Mar-a-Lago, to the point where he’s termed himself the “First Buddy.” He’s bought a house nearby and showed up to the recent re-opening of Notre Dame Cathedral where he (unsuccessfully) tried to snag a seat next to his new BFF. Like a bad 80s movie, he’s that annoying sidekick you just can’t shake.

Clearly, Musk expects to cash in on his investment. He’s created a faux cabinet position with fellow money dweeb, Vivek Ramaswamy – the Department of Government Efficiency, code-named “DOGE.” Which is also the name of Musk’s preferred form of crypto, something he’s very invested in promoting over an economy backed by real money. He also has a number of government contracts which he’s interested in protecting and expanding, as well as using his new power to protect his EV niche.

Musk and Ramaswamy have claimed they’ll be “weeding out waste” in the federal budget. So far, they’re taking an ideological chainsaw to essential programs that millions of Americans rely on. Whether they can actually follow through remains to be seen (#congress), but the fact that these two entitled dipwads have that kind of power is infuriating.

In a parallel universe, they’d both be given Atomic Wedgies and stuffed in a locker.

Now, Musk is wielding his influence posting his “opinions” on everything from government funding to the appointment of judges. He’s threatened to fund primary challenges to any member of Congress who goes against Trump’s agenda. Considering that he spent $44 billion to buy Twitter (now “X”), $250 million to buy America is quite the bargain.

Between the two battling egos of Musk and Trump, an inevitable battle is shaping up that will rival Godzilla and Mothra. Sadly, in this case it won’t be Tokyo that’s stomped all over – it will likely be us.

Cindy Grogan is a writer, lover of history and "Star Trek" (TOS), and hardcore politics junkie. There was that one time she campaigned for Gerald Ford (yikes), but ever since, she's been devoted to Democratic and progressive policies.