Summary
Elon Musk is distancing himself from sweeping federal job cuts linked to DOGE, blaming agency heads—not DOGE—responsible for mass layoffs, including the announced 70,000 job cut at Veterans Affairs.
Despite claiming DOGE’s role as merely advisory, Musk admitted to mistakes in private meetings with GOP lawmakers and pledged to correct them.
Some cuts have already been reversed, with a Trump administration memo clarifying agencies are not required to fire probationary employees (new hires).
It just occurred to me that Trump might be Ellen Pao-ing Musk. He knows the tariffs and mass layoffs and deportations are going to crash the economy. He needs a fall guy when it happens.
Do all your unpopular, disastrous policies with an unpopular person standing in front of you, then blame everything on that person and send them packing.