Many Americans have watched in horror as Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has been permitted to tear through various offices of the United States government in recent weeks. Backed by President Donald Trump, and supported by a small team of true believers, he has successfully laid siege to America’s vast federal bureaucracy.
On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order giving Musk even more power. It requires federal agencies to cooperate with his “Department of Government Efficiency” (known as DOGE) in cutting their staffing levels and restricting new hires.
In his first comments to the media since joining the Trump administration as a “special” government employee, Musk also responded to criticism that he’s launching a “hostile takeover” of the US government.
“The people voted for major government reform, and that’s what people are going to get,” he said.
Are Musk’s actions akin to a “hostile takeover” of government, or a coup? I argue it’s more a form of “state capture”. Here’s what that means.
Under the pretence of maximising government efficiency and productivity, DOGE has amassed quite a bit of power. It has:
Musk’s blitzkrieg across Washington – carried out in apparent violation of numerous federal laws – has not only stirred confusion, but defied explanation.
A popular argument, supported by some historians and commentators, is that Musk’s actions amount to a coup. They argue this is not a coup in the classic sense of a takeover of the physical centres of power. Rather, it’s a seizure of digital infrastructure by an unelected group seeking to undo democratic practices and violate human rights.
This term, however, is not technically correct. The most widely accepted definition of a coup is “an overt attempt by the military or other elites within the state apparatus to unseat the sitting head of state using unconstitutional means.”
Since Musk and Trump are bedfellows in this plot, the tech billionaire is clearly not trying to violently unseat the president.
Another possible explanation: this is a self-coup. This describes a situation in which “the sitting national leader takes decisive illegitimate action against countervailing institutions and elites to perpetuate the incumbent’s power.”
In December, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attempted a self-coup when he declared martial law n order to ostensibly protect the country from opposition forces. He quickly reversed his decision amid elite defections and mass public demonstrations.
Though self-coups are becoming more common, Musk is doing the dirty work in the US – not Trump. Also, Musk’s chief target — the bureaucracy — does not nominally offset presidential power (except in conspiracy theories).
More accurately, Musk’s siege amounts to a form of “state capture”. This refers to “the appropriation of state resources by political actors for their own ends: either private or political.”
