Musk Comes for the ‘Third Rail of American Politics’
Donald Trump promised to protect Social Security. Elon Musk didn’t.
Russell Berman
Russell Berman is a staff writer at The Atlantic. Since joining The Atlantic in 2014, Russell has written extensively about Congress, political reform, and policy experiments in states and cities. He previously covered the House of Representatives for The Hill newspaper and served as a Washington correspondent for the New York Sun.
Latest
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Even Tom Cole Is Defending DOGE
“A Republican House is not going to chain down a Republican president.”
Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times / Getty The GOP’s Fears About Musk Are Growing
Some Republicans are starting to worry about what DOGE could mean for them and their constituents.
Illustration by Colin Hunter / The Atlantic. Source: Jim Watson / Getty. The Specter of American Oligarchy
Generations of Americans have questioned the role of the wealthy few who govern the many.
Tasos Katopodis / Getty What Happens If Trump Comes for the Mail?
“This would basically be stealing an agency.”
Rachel Boillot A Trump Cabinet Pick Gets a Rare GOP Grilling
The fate of Lori Chavez-DeRemer could show whether Trump will soften the party’s long-standing opposition to labor unions.
Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Why Isn’t Congress Doing Anything?
Republicans are just fine with Elon Musk gutting the government.
Illustration by Akshita Chandra / The Atlantic. Sources: Justin Sullivan / Getty; Burazin / Getty. What the Democrats’ Musk Whisperer Thinks Now
“We need to make sure that Elon Musk has an allegiance to the Constitution,” Representative Ro Khanna says.
Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc / Getty Trump’s Assault on USAID Makes Project 2025 Look Like Child’s Play
“I have never seen a government action have such an immediate impact.”
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. ‘It’s an Illegal Executive Order. And It’s Stealing.’
Trump wants to go around Congress and freeze enormous amounts of federal spending. Can he?
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty.
