The Trump administration’s opening salvo was, for the most part, what everyone expected: a string of reactionary executive orders, fresh out of Project 2025. They attacked trans people, immigrants, public health. Many were plainly illegal, and many of them weren’t but probably should be. 

More surprising was that Elon Musk’s position as head of the Department of Government Efficiency was not just a ceremonial role meant to placate an idiot, but a vessel through which the administration plans to hollow out the federal civil service.