Another area where the private sector could be of immense help is in the modernization of the government’s IT infrastructure. This is a major challenge for government and will be difficult to implement, but given his background and expertise in IT, this should be Musk’s (and DOGE’s) primary focus.

Elon Musk is rapidly consolidating control over large swaths of the federal government with President Donald Trump ’s blessing, sidelining career officials, gaining access to sensitive databases and dismantling a leading source of humanitarian assistance.