Sanders puts Musk in focus amid DOGE cuts

Politico

17-03-2025

QUICK FIX
WHO'S REALLY RUNNING DOL?: Since losing his post atop the Senate HELP Committee, Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — the panel's current ranking member — has unsurprisingly been frosty toward President Donald Trump's nominees to lead the Labor Department.
However, amid the so-called Department of Government Efficiency's effort to purge federal employees, Sanders has taken a more uninterested tone in the nominees themselves by dismissing the president's picks and asserting that Elon Musk will ultimately be the one to shape their agencies.
'The next secretary of Labor, the next secretary of Education, the next secretary of [Housing and Urban Development], next secretary of the Treasury is Elon Musk and let us understand that reality and play go along with the charades,' Sanders said before lawmakers voted to confirm Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
Sanders also left Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling's nomination hearing early and has made sure to highlight Musk at nearly every hearing he's attended.
When asked about how he's approached the nominee process for Trump's picks, he told Shift last week that he only left one hearing early, but his move to shift the focus to Musk is one of the many strategies Democrats are attempting in standing up to Trump's effort to remake the federal government.
As Democrats have resorted to pointing fingers and searching for a coherent message since Trump's victory last fall, Sanders has hit the road to hold rallies with strong attendance where he's focused on pocketbook issues while calling attention to the risks of taking a chainsaw to federal agencies.
With several additional labor and employment nominees set to appear for the committee in the coming months, Sanders is likely to continue highlighting Musk's role in the federal government, especially as new polling shows that his work leading DOGE is deeply unpopular with the American public.
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AROUND THE AGENCIES
NOT SO EAGER: Federal employees reinstated by a pair of district court rulings last week aren't rushing to reclaim their jobs and are already filling out applications for other roles after losing faith in their previous employers.
'The government hates us,' Oleka Chmura, 28, an employee who previously worked at Yellowstone National Park, told The Washington Post. 'I was originally putting up with it because I believed in the park's mission, but I can't go back to the anxiety of, 'Am I fired or am I not?''
Some employees were excited to return to work but discovered that their agencies weren't part of lawsuits in California and Maryland that led federal judges to order the Trump administration to call fired feds back to work.
More agency news: 'UFL players file complaint with NLRB over CBA talks,' from ESPN.
Even more: "Federal Budget Ax Threatens Contractors, but Could Also Be an Opportunity,' from The New York Times.
On The Hill
FUNDING FALLOUT: Democrats continued their recriminations into the weekend after Senate leaders chose to support a stopgap funding bill that the party seemingly broadly opposed, with many directing their ire at Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Some lawmakers did come to his defense, including Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who notably voted against the bill.
'Leader Schumer has a very difficult job. I don't envy the job that he has,' Murphy said Sunday on NBC's 'Meet the Press,' adding: 'I still support Senator Schumer as leader.'
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who appeared on ABC's 'This Week,' threw cold water on the anger directed against his colleagues who backed the continuing resolution, arguing that entering a government shutdown would've empowered the Office of Personnel Management to pursue deeper cuts to the federal workforce.
Schumer backlash continues: ''Uniting anger': Democrats fume over Schumer's handling of funding fight,' from our Holly Otterbein, Lisa Kashinsky, Jordain Carney, Elena Schneider and Brakkton Booker.
Unions
NOT ON THEIR WATCH: Nurses unions are pushing back against hospitals for adding AI tools that monitor patients' vital signs and develop action plans for care as they grapple with staff shortages, The Associated Press reports.
'Hospitals have been waiting for the moment when they have something that appears to have enough legitimacy to replace nurses,' said Michelle Mahon of National Nurses United. 'The entire ecosystem is designed to automate, de-skill and ultimately replace caregivers.'
The union has organized more than a dozen protests urging hospitals to let their staff dictate how the technology is used, and guardrails against discipline for personnel who choose not to follow medical advice from AI.
In the Workplace
DISTRICT DOWNTURN: The D.C. economy could enter a recession as early as this year due to the widespread job losses from the Trump administration's effort to trim the federal workforce, CNN reports.
Oxford Economics estimates the region could lose nearly $5 billion in wages from cuts to federal jobs, which will likely ripple through the region's consumer-facing businesses, including hospitality and retail.
Not just D.C.: 'DOGE Upheaval Arrives in Cities Far From Washington,' from The Wall Street Journal.
TESLA TUMBLES: AkademikerPension, a Danish pension fund, is dropping its Tesla shares over the company's worker rights record and Elon Musk's support for far-right political candidates, Bloomberg reports.
The move comes after the company's stocks tumbled in recent weeks, prompting Trump to hold an event at the White House featuring the EVs to show support for Musk. The company's stocks briefly began to rebound last week.
Conservatives began to rally around the car brand last week, while the left escalated their attacks against Musk, including Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who announced last week that he was getting rid of his Tesla and called the vehicle 'a rolling billboard' for Musk.
More workplace news: 'Davos organiser promises revamp after probe into workplace discrimination,' from the Financial Times.
WHAT WE'RE READING
— 'How Trump's 'No Tax on Tips' Could Backfire for the Working Class,' from Bloomberg.
— 'To Investigate Labor Abuse, We Began With a Question: Who Profits?,' from The New York Times.
— 'CEOs Face More Accountability When a Board Member Has Military Experience,' from The Wall Street Journal.
— 'Other states are preparing for the House NIL settlement. But can Florida schools compete?,' from our Andrew Atterbury.
THAT'S YOUR SHIFT!