UPDATE: You may also want to watch this piece with your students, Protests erupt as Elon Musk moves to gut government agencies (Feb. 5, 2025).
Timecode recommendations:
Start video at 2:14 ("Meanwhile, the Trump administration...") to focus on the content of this lesson, Elon Musk accessing millions of Americans' personal records on behalf of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
If you are short on time, watch the video and complete this See, Think, Wonder activity: What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What would you want to learn more about?
SUMMARY
President Donald Trump is pushing new boundaries by taking steps to shutter an entire government agency without warning and giving his close adviser, Elon Musk, unprecedented access to federal systems.
View the transcript of the story.
News alternative: Check out recent segments from the NewsHour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.
Key terms
- DOGE — the "Department of Government Efficiency" is an informal executive entity established by President Trump and run by Elon Musk to cut government spending
- USAID — a federal department created in 1961 to distribute aid and relief funds across the globe
- Office of Personnel Management — A part of the executive branch that hires and maintains records for federal employees
- General Services Administration — A part of the executive branch dedicated to making sure the federal government runs smoothly
- Treasury Department — The federal department that manages income and spending of the federal government
- Federal Advisory Committee Act — a 1971 law that governs advisory committees such as DOGE and requires them to be open to public input and transparency
- transparency — the principle that most governmental actions should be open to public scrutiny
WARM-UP QUESTIONS
- Who is Elon Musk and what is his role in Trump's administration?
- What is DOGE? Why does Trump say he created it?
- Why did Trump give Musk and DOGE unprecedented access to sensitive internal government systems, including a Treasury Department payment system, which holds private information for millions of Americans?
- Why are there conflict of interest rules for government workers who also run their own businesses? What has the response been by groups like State Democracy Defenders Fund and the AFL-CIO related to DOGE?
- When was USAID shut down? What evidence did Trump and Musk provide of widespread corruption?
FOCUS QUESTIONS
- Why do you think it's an unprecedented move in U.S. history that Trump has allowed Musk to access millions of Americans' personal information? Would you put it under the category of constitutional crisis (conflict in government's ability to function that the Constitution or other laws are perceived to be unable to resolve)? Why or why not?
- Do you think the public would support a close-up analysis of how government agencies spend money if it were done with more transparency and explanation to the American people? Explain.
Media literacy: Whose perspective would you like to hear more from in this story?
WHAT STUDENTS CAN DO
Read over this line again by Kel McClanahan, executive director, National Security Counselors:
"They have decided that the things that worked for them there are a good idea to implement in the federal government. The problem is that the federal government, or any government, for that matter, does not function like a business, and it literally cannot function like a business."
How does government affect your life? Can you think of anything related to the government that affected you on your way to school? How about members of your family or your community? Are there government programs that you've seen be helpful or wasteful? Explain.
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