After Time released its new cover featuring billionaire Elon Musk at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, everyone agreed on one thing—President Donald Trump will absolutely hate this.
The photo illustration previewed a cover story titled “Inside Elon Musk’s War on Washington,” detailing his push for sweeping government reforms during Trump’s first weeks in office.
Musk, the head of the newly-created (not actually a department) Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has faced sharp backlash from Democrats and federal employees for his aggressive cost-cutting measures, including job reductions, so-called buyouts, and spending cuts.
One of his primary targets has been the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which he has criticized as being filled with “radical-left Marxists,” placing thousands of its employees on administrative leave.
Just four days after Trump's inauguration, Musk’s top aides at the Treasury Department instructed its acting secretary, a career civil servant, to immediately halt all USAID payments through the department’s highly sensitive payment processing system.
Musk appears to act entirely unilaterally—very much without Trump's input—so who's really in charge?
In this respect, the cover makes a lot of sense.
Time
Almost immediately, people pointed out that Trump—whose relentless desire to be the center of attention is very, very well documented—will definitely not be happy about this.
Critics have trolled Trump using the name "President Musk," suggesting that Trump isn't actually the one calling the shots as the nation's chief executive.
Late last year, Musk played a key role in leading a revolt against a bipartisan funding bill, directly challenging House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican leaders who helped craft the legislation. The revolt plunged budget negotiations into disarray, increasing the likelihood of a government shutdown.
Ultimately, Republicans rejected Johnson's proposal for a three-month stopgap funding extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR), which includes over $100 billion in aid for natural disaster relief, bipartisan healthcare policy reforms, and various other provisions. The matter was eventually resolved but another funding deadline comes up next month.
While Musk has vowed to work with Trump to achieve his agenda, his brazen power moves just might undercut it—or lead to his eventual termination, as observers have suggested.
