Unelected White House budget slasher and richest man in the world Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency has ripped through the federal government like a bull in a china shop.
The billionaire's hodge-podge team of underqualified 20-somethings — and at least one literal teenager — have already ripped up countless government contracts and fired thousands of federal employees — only to rehire those who were in charge of nuclear security and protecting the US from a looming bird flu crisis.
It's a spectacular level of incompetence that has Americans increasingly furious, as a new Washington Post-Ipsos poll shows.
A whopping 49 percent of respondents said they disapproved of the "job that Elon Musk is doing within the federal government," while only 34 approved. The degree of animosity shouldn't be understated either, with 41 percent "strongly" disapproving, while only eight percent "somewhat" disapproved.
When asked about Musk shutting down "federal government programs that he decides are unnecessary," 52 percent of all respondents disapproved, while only 26 percent approved.
And 63 percent of respondents said they were "concerned" about Musk's DOGE boys "getting access to some federal government databases that have Americans' personal Social Security, Medicare and tax information."
Unsurprisingly, the political divide is pretty stark, with 69 percent of respondents who identify as "conservative" approving of the job that Musk is doing, while only seven percent of "liberal" respondents said they approved.
Previous polling painted a damning picture of the entrepreneur's popularity, showing that his public support, even among Trump supporters, is dropping precipitously. A The Economist and YouGov poll found earlier this month that a mere 25 percent of Trump voters said that Musk should have "a lot" of influence on the Trump administration — compared to 51 percent just days after the election.
Even independent voters are becoming concerned about Musk's reckless approach.
One independent white woman from Texas said in her response to the WaPo-Ipsos poll that "hiring Elon Musk to gut the government" was the worst thing the president had done. "Elon Musk may be a brilliant man," she said, "but he is not good working with people and does not know what he is doing quite frankly."
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