Bidenbucks out, DoGEbucks in?

Forget Trumpbucks and Bidenbucks: Americans could see Muskbucks (or DoGEbucks?) hitting their mailboxes if the world’s richest man has his way.

This time, it wouldn’t be via payouts from X — it would be courtesy of the billions of dollars in savings that Musk claims have already come from the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DoGE) wide-ranging cuts. 

According to Musk, DoGE has already saved taxpayers $55 billion — and he would like to see payments sent back to taxpayers when his agency winds down ahead of America’s 250th birthday. The idea started — where else? — on X, with Musk replying to a proposal for a “DoGE Dividend” that he “will check with the president” about the idea to take 20 percent of DoGE’s targeted savings and mail out checks for $5,000 to Americans whose tax dollars made the waste possible in the first place.

Whether DoGE will save enough to mail out billions of dollars in checks remains to be seen; some of Musk’s detractors in the media and in Congress are doubting that he will be able to find enough to cut. “DoGE Says It’s Saved $55 Billion; Data Show Much Less,” Bloomberg reported. Congressman Mark Pocan, who loves to hate on Musk on the platform the Tesla CEO bought, posted a cartoon comparing Musk to employing Cookie Monster at a cookie factory.

Fortunately for Musk, he has no shortage of allies in Congress eager to help him identify billions of dollars to slash (not to mention separate state-based efforts led mostly by Republicans, who are eager to cut more local inefficiencies). In fact, the House has both a bipartisan DoGE Subcommittee, which sits under Congressman James Comer on the broader Oversight Committee and a DoGE Caucus, which has a Senate counterpart led by Joni Ernst and Rick Scott.

While the DoGE Subcommittee’s first hearing featured a borderline not-safe-for-work soap opera, with Congressman Robert Garcia childishly holding up a photo of Musk and proclaiming that it is a “dick pic,” the subcommittee will work “shoulder to shoulder” with Musk and President Trump, its leadership said recently. Nevertheless, the Republicans on the subcommittee did garner substantial attention for their “war on waste,” in which they want to “investigate the hundreds of billions of taxpayers’ dollars wasted annually on improper payments and fraud.”

Garcia’s facile antics aside, Musk got a vote of confidence from the only person he truly needs to remain on his side: Trump, who told Sean Hannity in a joint interview with Musk that he believes that Musk is “going to find $1 trillion.”

-Matthew Foldi

On our radar

NO HOMO The federally-run John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts canceled its Pride concert after Trump appointed himself chairman of the center. The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC, has rescheduled the performance of their piece titled “A Peacock Among Pigeons.” 

LOOSE BANNON Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon told a reporter at UnHerd that Elon Musk is a “parasitic illegal immigrant.” 

PROTECTING IVF Trump signed an Executive Order at Mar-a-Lago yesterday to prepare a “list of policy recommendations on protecting IVF access and aggressively reducing out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment” that would be presented to the president. Many in the pro-life movement have objections to this order, as IVF often results in extra fertilized eggs that will never be born.

Hochul in the hot seat

New York governor Kathy Hochul is weighing up the potential removal of New York City mayor Eric Adams following a meeting between the mayor and the Trump administration.

Adams was charged in September for allegedly accepting illegal campaign contributions and perks from the Turkish government; however, these charges were dropped last week by the Department of Justice, which argued the charges were impeding his ability to enforce Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, as reported by the Associated Press.

During an interview on Fox & Friends last week, Adams and Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, discussed a previous meeting in which Adams and the Trump administration discussed how they could work together to tackle New York City’s violent and criminal illegal immigrants. Adams made it clear that, although he disagrees with Homan and Trump’s agenda for all illegal immigrants, he has been consistent in addressing the violent illegal immigrants so that everyone in New York City, documented or not, can feel safe.

The dropping of Adams’s charges and his plans to work with Trump have led to a shift in support from both sides of the political aisle. The right is willing to accept the dropping of his charges as long as he continues to support Trump’s agenda; however, many on the left view this as another example of Adams being susceptible to corruption. Leading this charge is New York State governor Kathy Hochul. As governor, she has the authority to replace Adams, but has waited until after the charges were dropped and after Adams met with the Trump administration to take steps toward his removal.

The most controversial aspect of this action is the process by which Hochul is seeking to remove Adams. Hochul yesterday met with several black leaders, including Revd Al Sharpton, to discuss the removal of Adams from office. It might appear that Hochul is seeking permission to remove a black mayor without alienating her base.

Adams announced that he would continue to fight for the people of New York City, saying, “I’m not stepping down, I’m stepping UP.”

–Derek VanBuskirk

Kash Patel advances toward FBI role

The Senate voted 48-45 along party lines Tuesday to advance Kash Patel’s nomination as FBI director, clearing a key procedural hurdle and setting up a final confirmation vote for Thursday.

Democrats have strongly opposed Patel, labeling him a conspiracy theorist who could weaponize the agency against the president’s opponents. Despite their concerns, Patel, a former National Security Council official, is widely expected to be confirmed. Political betting platform Kalshi places the odds of all Republicans — except for Kentucky senator Mitch McConnell — backing Patel at more than 90 percent.

Meanwhile, the confirmation hearing for labor secretary nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer took place Wednesday. A Republican who represented Oregon’s 5th congressional district, Chavez-DeRemer is not among the most controversial nominees overall, but has sparked division within Republican ranks.

Her selection is widely viewed as President Trump’s nod to the union workers who supported him. She was one of only three Republicans to back the PRO Act, a key labor priority, earning her an endorsement from the Teamsters Union.

“The Teamsters are grateful to President Trump for putting American workers first by nominating Representative Chavez-DeRemer to this important role,” Teamsters leader Sean M. O’Brien, who spoke at the Republican National Convention last year, said in a statement.

So far, the only outspoken Republican senator opposing Chavez-DeRemer is Kentucky’s Rand Paul. “I’m the national spokesman and lead author of the right-to-work bill. Her support for the PRO Act, which would not only oppose national right-to-work but would preempt state law on right-to-work — I think it’s not a good thing,” Paul told NBC News in January.

If Paul is correct in predicting that more than a handful of Republicans will join him in opposing Chavez-DeRemer, she will need Democratic support to be confirmed. While she is expected to secure it, Democrats could, in theory, make her the first Trump nominee to fail a vote.

–Juan P. Villasmil