Littwin: Forget the distractions. We can’t lose focus on Elon Musk’s all-out attack on American democracy. 

Donald Trump’s flood-the-zone, blitzkrieg-style attack on everything in sight — including those things that many of us rightly value about America — is meant to distract us.

We knew that already. And we know it’s working. We’re overwhelmed, which is exactly the point.

But even with all the noise, all the threats, all the dread,  it has become demonstrably clear, particularly over the past few days, where our attention and focus, and our leaders’ attention and focus, must be: 

And that is the role of Elon Musk — an unappointed, unconfirmed, unchecked, basically untitled private citizen who also happens to be the richest person in the world — in running roughshod, with his DOGE crew, over our democracy in ways that defy both our imaginations and our laws.

Everything else pales in comparison as Musk increases his power, and the power of the executive, with each hour of each passing day. This, as many have pointed out, is the path to authoritarianism and to the end of democracy. It’s that serious. It’s even more serious when you consider that Musk has easy access to the Oval Office at seemingly all times and that Trump defends Musk whenever anyone asks.

Everything pales in comparison to Musk’s almost certainly illegal access to Treasury Department data, which holds details on trillions of dollars of government spending and will be used to threaten, or worse, those on Musk’s enemies list — one certainly much more comprehensive than Kash Patel’s on his way to being FBI director.

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To Musk’s attempt to destroy agencies — starting with USAID and the global humanitarian work it does, about which Musk tweeted that he had “spent the weekend feeding (it) into the wood chipper.” On Monday, Musk said in a Twitter chat that Trump has agreed to shut down the agency, which Musk has called a “criminal organization.” 

As Musk was laying off hundreds of USAID employees, he put on leave two security officials who attempted to block Musk’s DOGE team from accessing the agency’s classified information, including intelligence reports. You might want to know the DOGE boys — some of them just out of high school — have accessed the classified material even as they set up yellow tape blocking employees from entering the agency’s headquarters.

To Musk’s letter to the 2.3 million civilian federal employees pushing mass resignations. The Washington Post is reporting on a memo from the General Services Administration — now a wholly owned Musk subsidiary, along with the Office of Personnel Management and Office of Budget Management — saying the deferred resignation offer ends Thursday and if too few take it, there will “likely” be layoffs.

To Musk’s many conflicts of interest, including the billions of dollars in contracts with the federal government. I don’t know if Musk’s assault on democracy is just a plan to further enrich himself, but the conditions are all in place. I think it’s more likely a power grab than a money grab, but I have no idea what’s actually in Musk’s mind.

To Musk taking a hammer to anyone brave enough to stand in his way. Those at the Treasury Department and USAID who have tried to block Musk’s excesses have been “put on leave,” which hopefully is not a nice way of saying “sent to Guantanamo.”

To Musk’s, and Trump’s, threat to choke off money that Congress has appropriated, at his discretion and with Congress’ craven approval.

There’s more, so much more. And we don’t know where, or if, it will stop. Or what the Musk/Trump end game will be. Or if the Supreme Court — this all has to get there eventually — will try to stop him. Or if the Supremes actually do want to act — and that’s certainly up for debate — whether they could do it in time. Or whether Trump will simply ignore them.

What we do know is that congressional Republicans have quietly transferred their constitutional obligations to Musk and his band of underage engineers. What we do know is that some Democrats seem to be waking to the threat, but, with few exceptions, have been all too muted in their role as loyal opposition.

What we do know is that Musk contributed $250 million to Trump’s 2024 campaign, and, as a reward, he was given the extralegal role of chief budget slasher, which has turned into the role of extralegal chief government destructor.

There’s nothing new about America’s historical flirtation with oligarchy. It’s at least as old as the Gilded Age. But Musk’s role is unprecedented.

As historian Douglas Brinkley told the New York Times — in a must-read look into the upheaval, and worse, that Musk has brought to what Trump likes to call “the deep state” — “There is not one single entity holding Musk accountable. It’s a harbinger of the destruction of our basic institutions.”

This is what we’ve come to:

Two of Trump’s most dangerous and unqualified cabinet nominees — RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard — passed through Senate-committee votes Monday on their way to confirmation.

It’s terrible news, except, I guess, if you’re an RFK Jr. fan like Jared Polis.

Two Republicans who could have stepped up — Bill Cassidy, a doctor who voted for Kennedy, and Susan Collins, the pretend moderate who voted for Gabbard — didn’t, of course. Anyone who held out hope that they might, including me, was simply naive.

If the nominees pass the full Senate, as expected, they will likely produce terrifying consequences, but in today’s Trumpian world, Kennedy and Gabbard count as a distraction.

Trump’s laughable one-day tariff war with Mexico and Canada — and the fake concessions both countries made to Trump so he could declare victory — is a distraction.

Housing migrants in Guantanamo Bay — a ploy meant mostly, I think, as a way of owning the libs — is terrible, but also a distraction.

And now Trump says that, in addition to Canada and Greenland and the Panama Canal, the United States should take ownership of Gaza. And to displace the Palestinian residents. Yes, really.

It’s hard for me to say Trump’s racist and misogynistic attack on DEI after the helicopter/airplane crash is a distraction. It’s hard for me to say that Trump’s truly Orwellian orders to federal agencies to whitewash words like “gender” and “LGBTQ” and “immigrant” and “pregnant people,” are distractions. This is Big Brotherism at its worst.

And yet, the focus must be on Musk, who is using his influence, and his Twitter account, in as many places as he can possibly think of. As an example, when Gabbard had her Senate hearing, several Republicans asked her tough questions, including Indiana Sen. Todd Young. After which Musk attacked him as a “deep state puppet.” Musk and Young then had a, uh, little conversation. And call me a cynic if you like, but I think we can guess how Young eventually decided to vote for Gabbard’s confirmation. And why Musk withdrew his criticism of Young, calling him an “ally.”

What’s clear is that Musk must be stopped. What’s less clear, much less clear, is how. Here are some suggestions I’ve seen.

There are lawsuits, of course. But they must come faster, to match the speed of Musk’s march through Washington.

There is the House, where Republicans hold the slimmest of margins and Democrats could cause severe disruption. As some have suggested, they should not vote for any government funding or to raise the debt ceiling until or unless Trump brings Musk to heel. If that seems too hard, I’m sure Nancy Pelosi could offer some advice on how to move forward.

Democrats in both the Senate and House can slow down proceedings, as we’ve seen many times over the years with far less at stake.

Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper — unlike Bennet, Hick has been notably quiet during Trump’s few weeks in office — have joined 35 Senate colleagues in calling for the Trump administration, starting with Marco Rubio, to disengage from the “brazen and illegal” attempt to destroy USAID.

And voices, now raised, must be raised higher. And higher. And higher.

Voices must be raised high enough and often enough against Musk and his ill-gotten power to drown out the many Trump distractions and diversions and outright lies.

Too much is at stake to do anything less.

Mike Littwin has been a columnist for too many years to count. He has covered Dr. J, four presidential inaugurations, six national conventions and countless brain-numbing speeches in the New Hampshire and Iowa snow. Sign up for Mike’s newsletter.

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