Although Musk’s wrecking crew officially disbanded last year, many of its operatives have “burrowed into” federal agencies “like ticks,” Wired has reported. Moreover, the reality is that DOGE’s reactionary mission was being carried out in parallel—and continues to be executed today—by [Russell] Vought, a far quieter, but no less villainous, figure.
Through his role as the main architect of Project 2025 and as a proponent of impoundment—that is, illegally refusing to spend money Congress has appropriated—during the first Trump administration, Vought served in many ways as the inspiration for DOGE, understood as an anti-democratic effort to concentrate federal spending power in the executive branch, and an omnidirectional war against state capacity in general.
DOGE’s objective was never to save taxpayer dollars. Musk did not “fail,” as some credulously argued, but succeeded in a spectacularly evil goal. DOGE was—and remains, through Vought’s OMB—an effort to extinguish the existing government and create a new one in the image of oligarchs and far-right ideologues.
Lambert here: I’m not sure that “in the image of” is a formulation I’m completely happy with.
Unlike Musk, Vought is more subtle in his efforts to dismantle democratic, public good–oriented government and replace it with an authoritarian, revanchist state. Rather than embody the drunkenly destructive impulses of the rest of the Trump administration, Vought generally prefers to keep a lower profile while attacking the administrative state from within. By targeting procedural complexities, like federal rulemaking processes or the disbursement of appropriated funds, Vought is able to launch deeper attacks against democratic government.
This approach has arguably made Vought more effective than his former collaborator at remaking the American government into a handmaiden to corporate interests. While Musk and DOGE’s escapades regularly captured public attention, Vought’s successful and unprecedented assault on the regulatory state is less widely known.
Congressional Democrats can make the reclusive Vought’s actions just as infamous as Musk’s higher-profile DOGE blitz.
Lambert here: So we’re doomed, then?
Add new comment