Elon Musk Has Wanted the Government Shutdown

As President Donald Trump has been trying to support House Republicans successful enactment implicit a continuing solution to support the authorities unfastened done the fall, Elon Musk has expressed a tendency for a authorities shutdown, 4 sources acquainted with his presumption archer WIRED.

Sources besides archer WIRED that Musk has wanted a authorities shutdown—an purpose that runs contrary to the White House’s stated tendency to debar one—in portion due to the fact that it would perchance marque it easier to destruct the jobs of hundreds of thousands of national workers, fundamentally achieving a imperishable shutdown. The sources, whom WIRED has granted anonymity, specifically asked to beryllium described generically due to the fact that accusation astir Musk’s enactment for a shutdown is intimately held.

“A shutdown has been his preference,” says 1 Republican acquainted with the situation, referring to Musk. “I deliberation he’s boxed successful determination by the president. I deliberation it would beryllium truly hard for him to get astir that.”

A 2nd Republican who had heard astir Musk’s tendency for a authorities shutdown tells WIRED that the billionaire’s extremity is for the continuing solution (CR) to tank, if lone to execute a little authorities shutdown.

“You cognize nary of this is astir redeeming money, right?” says a 3rd Republican acquainted with the down the scenes propulsion from Musk. “It’s each astir destroying a wide powerfulness base.”

Musk and the White House did not instantly respond to requests for comment.

The imaginable shutdown looms arsenic Musk’s alleged Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has slashed its mode done the government, eliminating the positions of an estimated tens of thousands of workers. If a authorities shutdown occurs, galore national agencies and programs would beryllium fundamentally enactment connected ice. Agencies similar the FBI and others with instrumentality enforcement and information functions would mostly proceed to run arsenic normal—albeit with immoderate authorities workers not being paid until aft the extremity of the shutdown—and captious functions similar the issuance of Social Security checks would not beryllium straight affected. Every section has a shutdown plan, though, and astir would beryllium impacted.

Ahead of a shutdown, national employees are efficaciously classified into indispensable oregon nonessential work, with nonessential employees furloughed and not allowed to enactment until the shutdown ends. According to national bureau contingency plans compiled by the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service successful 2023, erstwhile a national shutdown was narrowly averted, the excavation of workers who would beryllium taxable to being furloughed past numbered astir 850,000, with astir 410,000 of those being extracurricular the Department of Defense.

Federal unit costs, including subject spending, magnitude to astir $340 cardinal annually, truthful adjacent laying disconnected each of the 3rd oregon truthful of national workers considered nonessential could perchance prevention astir $110 cardinal a year—a fraction of the $1 trillion successful yearly national spending Musk has claimed helium wants to eliminate.

Musk has spoken astir removing alleged nonessential workers—many of whom execute captious tasks similar inspecting food, processing applications for benefits programs, and collecting upwind data—before. “If the occupation is not essential, oregon they are not doing it well, they evidently shouldn’t beryllium connected the nationalist payroll,” Musk told reporters successful precocious February, according to the New Yorker.