Latest news with #departmentofgovernmentefficiency
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US jobs market slows down as businesses cope with Trump trade war uncertainty
The US economy added 139,000 jobs in May, a slowdown compared with recent months as American businesses cope with uncertainty around Donald Trump's continuing trade war. After signs of a strong labor market in April – which was largely seen as resiliency against teetering trade policy from the White House – May saw a drop in new jobs added to the labor market, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2%, unchanged from last month. May's jobs report was dragged down by the loss of 22,000 federal workers' jobs as the Trump administration used the so-called 'department of government efficiency' (Doge) to cut government positions. Since January, 59,000 Federal jobs have been cut. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also cut the numbers of jobs created in March and April. In an update, the bureau said a total of 95,000 fewer jobs had been created over the two months. After the report was released, Trump once again called on the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell (whom he has nicknamed 'Too Late'), to cut interest rates. Related: Donald Trump to meet Xi Jinping in China after 'very good' call on trade ''Too Late' at the Fed is a disaster! Europe has had 10 rate cuts, we have had none. Despite him, our Country is doing great. Go for a full point, Rocket Fuel!' the president wrote on Truth Social. Economists expected a downward slump after data earlier in the week suggested a cooling job market. Payroll firm ADP reported that private-sector payrolls increased by just 37,000 in May, the lowest gain in more than two years. 'After a strong start to the year, hiring is losing momentum,' said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, in a statement. The Institute for Supply Management also released its latest purchasing mangers' index figure, which measures the general landscape for manufacturers and showed a reading of 49.9 in April – the lowest since June 2024. In the most recent results of the University of Michigan's survey of consumers, released at the end of May, consumer sentiment had stayed relatively stable from April to May, with the caveat that April's reading was the lowest drop in consumer sentiment since 1990. The impact of Trump's trade war has yet to be seen in inflation readings. In April, the annual inflation rate was at 2.3%, a slight decrease from March, though economists said that the impact of Trump's tariffs will be gradual and probably will not impact data until the summer.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Drugs, marital advice and that black eye: key takeaways from Trump's Oval Office send-off for Elon Musk
Donald Trump hosted an Oval Office press conference with Elon Musk on Friday to mark the end of the tech billionaire's tenure as a special government employee overseeing the so-called 'department of government efficiency', or Doge. Musk's departure comes after weeks of increasing pressure over his time leading Doge, in which he slashed thousands of jobs, resources and public spending. Here are the key takeaways from the event: Musk 'is really not leaving' and many of his Doge team will stay on in the administration, Trump told reporters on what was meant to be Musk's official last day as a 'special government employee'. 'Elon is really not leaving,' Trump said. 'He's going to be back and forth. I think I have a feeling it's his baby, and I think he's going to be doing a lot of things.' Musk later declared 'this is not the end of Doge but really the beginning', adding he will continue to visit the White House as a 'friend and adviser' to the president. 'I hope to continue to provide advice whenever the president would like,' Musk said. 'I hope so,' Trump replied. Related: Oval and out: Musk and Trump's farewell marred by disillusionment Trump praised Musk as 'one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced' and paid glowing tribute to the tech billionaire's 'sweeping and consequential' efforts to slash the federal workforce and reduce the size of government. The lavish praise came just days after Musk publicly criticised Trump's tax spending bill, saying he was 'disappointed' with it and claiming it 'undermines the work that the Doge team is doing'. Musk's comments appeared to indicate that the honeymoon between the two men was over, but on Friday, there were no signs of friction between the pair. Trump presented Musk with a large golden key emblazoned with the White House insignia, which he said he only gave to 'very special people' as a thank-you from the country. Musk attended the press conference wearing a black Doge cap, a black jacket and a black T-shirt with the words 'The Dogefather' – as well as a visibly bruised right eye. Asked about the bruise, Musk said his five-year-old son, X Æ A-12, had punched him in the face: 'I was just horsing around with X and I said: 'Go ahead, punch me in the face.' And he did.' 'I didn't really feel much at the time,' he added. 'But I guess it bruises up.' Musk quipped that he wasn't 'anywhere near France' at the time, a reference to a viral video appearing to show French president Emmanuel Macron's wife, Brigitte, pushing Macron in the face. Asked about the video of Macron and his wife and whether he had any 'marital advice' for the couple, Trump replied: 'Make sure the door remains closed.' 'He's fine. They're fine,' Trump added. 'They're two really good people I know very well, and I don't know what that was all about, but I know him very well, and they're fine.' Musk brushed off a New York Times report about his alleged drug use while serving as one of Trump's closest advisers. 'Let's move on,' he said when asked about the article, before railing against the paper for their 'lies about the Russiagate hoax'. According to the Times, Musk engaged in extensive drug consumption during his rise to political prominence, regularly consuming ketamine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. His regular medication box contained pills bearing Adderall markings alongside other substances, the paper said. His use of ketamine was so frequent that he told people it caused bladder problems, the report says. Sources told the paper that he consumed the powerful anaesthetic sometimes daily rather than the 'small amount' taken 'about once every two weeks' he claimed in interviews.
TimesLIVE
29-05-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Tesla shares rise as Elon Musk cuts ties with Trump administration
Tesla shares rose more than 2% on Thursday after news that CEO Elon Musk is stepping away from the Trump administration, fuelling hopes he will sharpen focus on the carmaker as it gears up for its hotly anticipated robotaxi debut. Musk's ties with US President Donald Trump and his tilt towards right-wing politics in Europe had fuelled waves of protests against Tesla in recent months, pushing some buyers away and rattling investors worried about brand damage. With Tesla on track for a second straight annual sales decline after its first-ever drop in 2024, pressure was mounting on the world's richest man — who also owns SpaceX and X — to refocus on the carmaker that underpins much of his fortune. Musk signalled recently he was cutting back on his role with the department of government efficiency (Doge), telling shareholders in March he would reduce his time to a day or two per week. He also announced last week that he will cut his political spending substantially. Musk spent nearly $300m (R5.35bn) to back Trump's presidential campaign and other Republicans last year.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fear, hope and loathing in Elon Musk's new city: ‘It's the wild, wild west and the future'
Along a flat coastal highway in south-east Texas, surrounded by wetlands and open plains, the artefacts of a new American oligarchy appear in quick succession. Three towering rockets stand upright on the horizon. A fleet of Tesla Cybertrucks speeds by. A large mural of the Shiba Inu 'doge' dog stares ahead, its arms crossed. There is a 4-metre-tall (12ft) bust of the world's richest person, painted in bronze, facing a dusty roadside. 'ELON aka MemeLord', a plaque beneath reads. It's not exactly romantic poetry, but the whole scene reminds me of the sonnet by Shelley: 'Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!' While old Ozymandias may have seen his fiefdoms crumble, Elon Musk's empire is possibly only just beginning. Here in Cameron County, on the southern tip of the Lone Star state, where Google Maps proudly displays the newly declared 'Gulf of America' just offshore, Musk has situated his self-described mission to save humanity and populate Mars. Just a few miles from his painted bust is the Starbase industrial complex, a rocket-manufacturing facility and launch arena, which commands the vista for miles. It is also the site of the multibillionaire's latest venture to acquire even more political power. Fresh from an extended stay in Washington as the de facto leader of the government-slashing, conflict-of-interest-riddled, so-called 'department of government efficiency' (Doge), Musk has returned in time to see Starbase become its own city. We are here shortly before the vote, where there is little doubt that the 280 eligible voters (the vast majority of whom are employed by or connected to Musk's space exploration company SpaceX) will approve the incorporation of a new, 4 sq km (1.6 sq mile) municipality. There remain many questions about why the company, which did not respond to any of my written questions and interview requests, would move for such recognition. It brings limited local powers, including the ability to impose minor property taxes and grant building permits, as well as the mandate to create its own fire department and – to some alarm – police department. And yet, as the US lurches further into what many describe as an era of norm-shattering digital dystopia under the second presidency of Donald Trump, the goings-on here, in this remote enclave by the US-Mexico border, already bring a sense of grisly prescience. As we pull off the highway into the Starbase neighbourhood (Boca Chica village, before the vote), we are trailed almost instantly by two white security trucks with flashing yellow lights. We drive along the main residential drag, where dozens of shiny, silver Airstream trailers – housing for SpaceX staff – sit in neat symmetry. We pass the newly renamed 'Memes Street' (formerly it was Weems Street), marked with a black street sign accompanied by a small image of Musk's pioneering Starship rocket. On the adjacent LBJ Boulevard, lined with modest homes and customised Cybertrucks parked outside, we pass what is reportedly Musk's personal residence, a small bungalow winged by a high black fence. As I get out, I chat with the security guard who has trailed us for the past five minutes. He informs me with a smile that while the roads may be public, if I step on to the front lawns of any of the homes, he'll seek to have me arrested. 'It's private property,' he says. Time to leave. While downtown Starbase may be a little averse to visitors, it's a different story in the ranchlands outside. Musk founded the facility in late 2014, and its rapid expansion in recent years has drawn a small platoon of Mars obsessives to the area. A few miles away from the production site, at a staging location seen in the distance, a Starship rocket is preparing for a static engine test. Clouds of vapour cascade from the 170ft vehicle, and small groups of awestruck spectators congregate at intervals on the roadside. Many are livestreamers and photographers who document the minutiae of Starbase's activities in extraordinary detail; surveying the serial numbers of components, the progress of launchpad construction and the particulars of planning documents, to assess when the next Starship launch is likely to take place. 'When you're standing here it's a weird combination of the wild, wild west and the brand new future,' says a livestreamer named Caesar G, who works for an independent YouTube channel called NASASpaceflight, which has 1.32 million subscribers. He's focusing a long lens camera on the testing taking place a few miles away, arms flailing with excitement. 'Take the politics out of everything,' he says. 'This is the coolest thing that's going on, engineering-wise. We are catching rockets!' While there is no doubt that the midair mechanical capture of a 232ft rocket booster, as happened here first in October of last year, is an extraordinary technological achievement, I do wonder how it is possible to distinguish it from politics, given the company's owner is also accused of making a fascist salute during Donald Trump's second inauguration. Shaun Gisler, a self-described 'aerospace histographer', who is also livestreaming at the roadside, chimes in on this point. 'He's accused of a lot of things,' Gisler says. 'A lot of that is just white noise. I'm looking at the result out here and I'm seeing success. We're hoping this gets to a point where it becomes so big, it helps bridge the [political] gap.' The full engine test does not happen for another five hours, but both men are committed to waiting out in the humidity to film it. We drive a little farther inland to meet with Anthony Gomez, a manager of the Rocket Ranch campground, which caters to hundreds of travelling space tourists every year. Gomez moved here in 2021, abandoning his life in Florida to witness what he believes are the beginnings of a programme that will save humanity. We head to a viewing platform which commands an uninterrupted view of the launchpads and is fronted by a fire trench designed to protect visitors in the wake of a catastrophic rocket explosion. He wells up describing the feeling of watching a takeoff here. 'Every cell and molecule is shaking with some form of elation,' he says. 'It is overwhelming. It's the apex of human technology. And when that thing takes off, somehow that is communicated. Somehow that information is delivered into your heart.' At the ranch, a cabin displays fragments of recovered Starship debris, and a large mural recreates Michelangelo's 'The Creation of Adam', replacing God's finger with one belonging to a Tesla humanoid robot named Optimus. We are meeting just days after a federal budget proposal by the Trump administration advances crippling cuts to low-income housing assistance while greenlighting a $1bn investment in Mars programmes, which is likely to benefit Musk. Gomez, who does not identify as a Trump supporter, is unfazed by the apparent cronyism, arguing that homelessness is 'the average human's responsibility', not that of the government. Plus, he argues, space exploration may one day allow us to retrieve gold- and platinum-encrusted asteroids to cure global poverty. 'There are asteroids floating around in space that can make the entire world wealthy,' he claims. He acknowledges that the technology to receive such a planetary boon is probably centuries away, but argues that the new private space race should 'give people a focus of hope'. It can be hard to unpick the politics here; a mixture of right-leaning libertarianism that feels largely mainstream, and visions of a tech utopia that seem more grounded in science fiction than reality. 'If you want to take people to Mars, it's going to include everyone on Earth,' Gomez says when I ask about Musk's clear nods to white nationalism. 'Why would you have any specific hate towards anybody?' There are, of course, many expert scientific critics of Musk's highly ambitious Mars plan, which has humans reaching the planet before the end of this decade. How would astronauts be protected from cosmic radiation during the journey and while exploring the red planet? How would Starship refuel for a return trip? Can SpaceX even get Starship to orbit Earth in the first place? (The last two launches have ended in explosive failure.) But perhaps the most pressing question is why humanity would want to spend trillions of dollars on such a project while pervasive crises on Earth persist. You don't need to look far in Cameron County to see this rammed home. This is a low-income, majority Latino community of just over 400,000 people, where almost a quarter of residents live below the poverty line. In the county's main population hub, Brownsville, disdain for the Starbase facility and its impending city status seems to be the predominant view. While Musk's foundation has made charitable donations to the local school system and downtown revitalisation efforts, many people I speak to have seen little positive impact. Some complain that their homes shake during launches. Others say that the arrival of heavy industry has beaten up the county highways with little sign of repair. More object to ongoing gentrification. Josette Cruz, a local organiser and lifelong Brownsville resident, points to soaring housing costs associated with an influx of new residents tied to SpaceX expansion and increased tourism. Her rent, she says, has risen from $725 a month to an almost unaffordable $1,000 in just a few years. Realtor signs now spring up in her neighbourhood with images of cartoon rockets. 'The fact that people can come here and say, 'We're going to have our own election, we're going to build our own town', what kind of mentality says that, if not one that is rooted in a colonial, settler mindset?' she says, shrugging. 'They want to go to Mars to colonise it.' We take a trip back out past the Starbase facility to Boca Chica beach, a public state park just a few hundred feet from the Starship launch pads. The juxtaposition here is stark. Warnings not to disturb the nesting grounds of the critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle are stationed across the beach entrance, framed by the giant launch pads and frantic construction work just metres away. In September last year SpaceX was fined almost $150,000 by the Environmental Protection Agency for spewing hundreds of thousands of gallons of polluted wastewater on to the surrounding wetlands after rocket launches. It is a charge the company has continued to deny. Using a low-income community for experimental rocket testing is another example of environmental racism We meet local environmentalist Bekah Hinojosa, who in 2022 was arrested by local police over alleged involvement in the graffiti found on a Musk-sponsored mural in Brownsville. The three words, written in blue, read: 'gentrified stop spaceX'. Hinojosa was apprehended in her pyjamas after plain-clothed officers arrived at her doorstep. Three years later, having pleaded not guilty to a class three misdemeanor, she is still awaiting a trial date. Like many generational residents, Hinojosa's family have visited this beach for decades, coming to fish at the shoreline and enjoy the tranquillity. But every launch now means a beach closure, and many fear the incorporation of Starbase city will lead to further restrictions on access. 'Using a low-income community for experimental rocket testing is another example of environmental racism,' she says, as a group of sandpiper birds paddle in the surf nearby. 'Billionaires should not own a beach. We will continue speaking up because, for us, it's about continuing to exist here.' Just coming down to the water's edge can now feel like an act of resistance, it seems. The morning of the Starbase vote brings with it dark skies and torrential rain. We make a final trip to the complex and stand in the drizzle outside the polling station. It's a cafeteria open only to SpaceX employees, but a small huddle of journalists seems to keep the security guards away this time. Most voters say they have been told by their employer not to talk to the press. But a stroke of luck allows us to meet one of the handful of residents who cast a ballot in opposition. She is one of the few hold-out residents, still living in a privately owned home on Memes Street. I can only imagine what it must be like to have your permanent address changed to a sophomoric joke. 'I was here before SpaceX and I have no loyalty issues,' she says after casting her ballot and declining to be named. I ask how she feels about populating Mars. She grimaces and walks away. The vote ends up passing by a majority of 212 to six. A 97% margin. The city's new mayor, Robert Peden, is a SpaceX vice-president. He ran unopposed. Three days later the Federal Aviation Authority, an agency previously purged by Doge, approves an aggressive new SpaceX flight programme that will allow the company to quintuple its annual launches from five to 25. The next Starship is scheduled to take off later this week. Its hulking steel shell glistens in the rain as we drive away.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As Musk steps back, experts say Doge cuts have harmed government services
As Elon Musk steps back from his role heading the so-called 'department of government efficiency' (Doge), many experts on government operations complain that Doge has done nothing to improve the quality of services the government provides to the American people. 'Doge is not offering any solid claims that it has improved services in any way,' said Donald Moynihan, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan. 'Rather, it has made the quality of some government services worse.' Musk, the world's richest man, was appointed to run the government efficiency drive by Donald Trump in January and as a 'special government employee' was barred from working for more than 180 days for the administration. He also has his own business woes to attend to. Related: Mass resignations at labor department threaten workers in US and overseas, warn staff – as more cuts loom But on his way out of the White House, Musk has boasted that Doge has achieved $150bn in savings, although many budget experts question the accuracy of that figure. Musk has repeatedly made exaggerated and erroneous claims about savings, which are a fraction of Musk's goal of $1tn in cuts. Moynihan and other public policy experts said it was unfortunate that Musk and Doge took the hard-charging focus of profit-maximizing business executives – of aggressively seeking to cut jobs and payroll – instead of adopting a broader focus aimed at making government more efficient while improving services. Martha Gimbel, the executive director of the Yale Budget Lab, said Musk evidently has little interest in making services better. 'They were the 'department of government slash and burn',' Gimbel said. 'There doesn't seem to be an approach to dig in on places where government services could really be improved. Any improvement in government services takes time. You have to invest. You have to build it out. You have to figure out how to fix it.' There has clearly been a degeneration of government services Martha Gimbel of the Yale Budget Lab Asked whether Musk and Doge had improved any government services, Gimbel burst out in laughter. 'No,' she said. 'There has clearly been a degeneration of government services.' Public policy experts and members of the public have pointed to numerous ways that government services have deteriorated due to Doge's cuts. There have been longer waiting times to get appointments at veterans' hospitals, longer waits when people call the Internal Revenue Service, longer lines at social security offices. The departure of many highly experienced social security employees has led to workers with far less training giving advice on benefits. At a White House news conference on 1 May, Musk defended Doge's accomplishments. 'In the grand scheme of things, I think we've been effective. Not as effective as I'd like. I think we could be more effective,' Musk said. 'But we've made progress.' Related: Federal workers in limbo amid whiplash White House firings and court-ordered rehirings Musk acknowledged that his $1tn goal had been far harder to reach than he had anticipated. 'It's sort of, how much pain is the cabinet and the Congress willing to take?' he said. 'It can be done, but it requires dealing with a lot of complaints.' The White House did not respond to the Guardian's questions about the deterioration of some government services or to the Guardian's request for any examples of how Doge has improved services. Gimbel said that Americans don't realize that many government services will get worse in coming months as the tens of thousands of Doge-ordered job cuts play out. 'Things will definitely get worse,' she said. For instance, the administration has far to go in carrying out its plan to cut 80,000 employees in the Department of Veterans Affairs. While many public policy experts say Trump and Musk wildly exaggerate in their claims that there is huge waste, fraud and abuse in government, Gimbel said there is of course waste in government. 'There is waste, and you can go after it,' she said. 'People who have been in government know where those places are. There is a ton of tech that needs modernizing. Doge doesn't seem interested in that. There's a lot of Medicare and Medicaid overbilling. Doge doesn't seem interested in that either. What you have is a relatively expensive exercise in slash-and-burn that sometime in the future will cost a lot to fix.' It's hard to offer any rational basis for the decisions that are being made. There certainly aren't any improvements that the American public will see Max Stier of the Partnership for Public Service Max Stier, the president of the Partnership for Public Service, a non-profit research group, said that many business executives – including Jack Welch, the former General Electric CEO famed for cost-cutting and increasing profits – would be unhappy with Musk's quick and brutal cuts. Stier complained that Musk and his team of twentysomething tech whizzes made steep cuts while knowing little about an agency's operations or about the qualifications and responsibilities of the people they fired or pushed out. 'Jack Welch would be appalled by the approach that Doge has taken,' Stier said. 'It's not actually about cost-cutting. It's about capability destroyed. Jack Welch would never, ever have fired people without having a real understanding about the way the organization worked and about the qualities of people who were being fired. This is an arbitrary exercise that has moved out employees who are often by far the most qualified rather than the least qualified.' Stier noted that Trump has described Doge as an exercise in cost-cutting and organizational improvement. 'That's just not the case,' Stier said. 'It's hard to offer any rational basis for the decisions that are being made. There certainly aren't any improvements that the American public will see.' 'It's burning down government capability,' he continued. 'It's unquestionably clear that they are firing people willy-nilly and are disrupting government services without any understanding of the consequences or concern about the consequences. It's a break-it-is-to-fix-it mentality. It isn't a mentality that predominates in Silicon Valley. It's sheer reckless behavior in the public sector because real people get hurt.' Musk's claim of $150bn in savings is a vast overestimate because it fails to include the considerable costs of Doge's moves, said Stier. Stier's group estimates that as a result of firings, rehirings, severance pay, paid leave and lost productivity involving more than 100,000 workers, Doge's maneuvers will cost taxpayers $135bn this fiscal year. And several public policy experts said the increased wait times and hassles the public will face due to Doge's cuts should also be subtracted from the $150bn. Moynihan said Musk has precisely the wrong vision for someone tasked with making government more efficient. 'His vision is that there is no way that government employees can produce anything of value,' Moynihan said. 'So the idea of tools that makes government services better is completely alien to the Musk mindset. 'I think he believes that nothing public employees do has any real value, that they are not capable employees and therefore cutting them will do no harm,' Moynihan added. 'It's a vision that doesn't understand what public services are, why they exist and how they benefit people.' Moynihan faulted Musk for gutting one of the government's main efforts to use technology to improve services and efficiency. He also criticized Musk for helping kill Direct File, a free and user-friendly way for people to report and file their taxes. Related: Move fast and destroy things: 100 chaotic days of Elon Musk in the White House Liz Shuler, the president of the AFL-CIO, the main US union federation, said Doge's cuts will hurt workers. She pointed to the sharp cuts at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, saying that that agency, for instance, does important research to ensure that firefighters' personal protective equipment is safe as possible. 'There's this notion that Doge is just cutting line items on a spreadsheet. It's hurting real lives and real people,' Shuler said. 'They've treated federal workers with blatant disregard and have been nothing short of dehumanizing and insulting toward them.' Gimbel of the Yale Budget Lab warned of another downside to Doge's cuts. 'Part of what government does is mitigate risk,' she said. 'Take food safety. Government inspectors decrease the risk that you will get listeria or salmonella. But when they reduce the number of food inspectors, will you get listeria or salmonella tomorrow? No. Will it probably increase the chances of people getting listeria and salmonella over the next five years? Yes.'
