We can say this at least:
Musk is one of the most malignant people ever to hold a position of influence in American politics.

His actions, without exaggeration,
have devastated the health and security of American society
and directly caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people all over the world,
with millions more to follow given the course that he has set.

Musk’s DOGE,
which is more or less a conspiracy to destroy constitutional government in this country,
has wreaked untold havoc.

Perhaps 10 percent of the already badly understaffed federal workforce has been laid off en masse,
with no regard to institutional knowledge or experience,
much less the constitutional separation of powers.

Basic systems foundational to American life,
like weather prediction,
air traffic control, and disaster relief,
are starting to crack.

America’s world-leading system of scientific funding has all but ground to a halt.

DOGE, along with Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr.,
has frozen the pipeline of grants that fund a huge portion of scientific research, including new treatments for cancer and other major diseases.

Basic enforcement of the nation’s laws has been abandoned,
with Musk gleefully hobbling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau because it might have interfered with his plans to offer banking services on his X app.

The Prospect is currently chronicling what new financial predators lurk to separate people from their money in a special series.

Musk’s political antics could be starting to catch up with him and threaten his wealth.

But the worst damage has been done to foreign aid.

USAID has been essentially shuttered (fed “into the wood chipper,” as Musk gleefully boasted),
and various programs providing medication and food aid around the world, particularly in Africa,
have been halted indefinitely.

Huge warehouses are full of rotting foodthat American taxpayers already paid for but that can’t be handed out.

Millions of people are seeing their cases of HIV, tuberculosis, and other diseases rage out of control.

Simply halting PEPFAR,
which provided about 20 million people with HIV antiretroviral drugs at a microscopic cost,
has already killed an estimated 54,500 adults and 5,800 children.

Many, many more will follow.

Roughly 1,500 babieshave been born HIV-positive every day since January 21, because Musk cut off their mothers’ medication
prospect.org/power/2025-05-30-…