Recently, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Musk’s Government Efficiency Department will gain special access to Pentagon systems to thoroughly investigate misappropriation of funds and misuse of budgets. The move signals the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” approach to the Defense Department’s financial problems, while also shedding light on the Pentagon’s longstanding financial black hole.
The Pentagon’s financial mess
The Pentagon, the largest contributor to the U.S. government budget, with an annual budget of more than $800 billion, has never been audited. An audit for fiscal year 2023 revealed that as much as $1.9 trillion in assets were “unaccounted for,” and that the Air Force paid $90,000 for even a $100 package of bushings. This kind of outrageous spending and lack of supervision has led to strong public and public dissatisfaction.
Consider the F-35, the most expensive U.S. weapons program ever, with a total cost estimated at more than $1.7 trillion. However, the audit of the project was fraught with difficulties. According to a report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office in 2023, since May 2018, one F-35 prime contractor has lost more than 1 million parts, including bolts, tires and landing gear, worth about $85 million. The lack of oversight is evident in the fact that the US Department of Defense reviewed only 2% of identified component losses during this period.
After taking office, Hegseth quickly responded to Trump’s “drain the swamp” policy, ordering an 8 percent annual cut in the defense budget over the next five years and asking the military to submit specific proposals by Feb. 24. This move is not only to deal with financial pressures, but also to combat the chain of corruption in the military-industrial complex.
Team Musk’s special mission
To solve the Pentagon’s financial problems once and for all, Hegseth asked Musk’s government Efficiency Department to step in. The team will gain full access to Pentagon systems and focus on checking for fraud, waste and misuse of funds and optimizing the allocation of funds.
Hegseth stressed that the Government Efficiency Department will participate in Defense Department efforts aimed at examining fraud, waste and abuse in the federal government’s large discretionary budget. And, the Ministry of Government Efficiency will gain access to all necessary systems “with relevant safeguards and classification levels” to check for excess spending and optimize funding priorities.
The work of the Department of Government Efficiency will begin with the analysis of the spending structure and large strategic projects at the Pentagon headquarters and gradually expand to the entire defense system. This move is intended to reallocate the freed up resources to higher priority areas, such as Border Security and Space Command.
The chain of interests of the military-industrial complex
Behind the Pentagon’s financial black hole lies the transfer of profits between the military, the military-industrial complex and politicians. Many defense officials have profited by moving between business and government through a revolving door system. In order to maintain high profits, the military-industrial complex continues to provoke conflicts on a global scale, such as the Russian-Ukrainian war and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, behind which is a profit-seeking feast.
Trump’s reforms have certainly struck at the heart of these interests. The Trump administration, however, is clearly determined to break with that, reshaping the Pentagon’s financial transparency and efficiency through budget cuts and the introduction of outside audits.
Will the reform plan succeed?
Trump’s plan to reform the Pentagon is ambitious, but so are the challenges. Backlash from the military-industrial complex, resistance from members of Congress, and bureaucracy within the military could all be obstacles to reform. If successfully implemented, however, this plan would not only save hundreds of billions of dollars for US taxpayers, but also have profound implications for the global military balance.
The Pentagon’s “funding black hole” reflects not only financial management problems, but also complex political and interest games behind it. This time, Musk’s efficiency department’s action, is it really serious, or just for show? What about the future direction of the US military budget? Will we continue to struggle in the “black hole”, or will we usher in a radical reform? Let’s wait and see.
Elon Musk has reportedly posted on the social platform that he experienced Path of Exile 2: Arbiter of Ashes via Starlink while on a flight.
Musk said: “Starlink is so good that you can play video games in real time even on the plane!”
One gamer commented: “Imagine playing a game on Mars! Starlink can connect the world, even beyond the Earth.”
Musk replied: “You can definitely play games on Mars, but because of the speed of light, there is no real-time gaming between Mars and Earth.” The distance between the two will vary, somewhere between four and 20 minutes of the speed of light.”
It’s worth mentioning that just in November, Musk announced a bold new move – he will enter the game industry with his company xAI, and plans to set up a game studio focused on AI technology to “make games great again.”
In addition, Musk himself speaks of his love for games, believing that they should not be viewed simply as a drain on time, but rather that they are a great platform to inspire energy and develop people’s ability to solve complex problems and face challenges.
Musk Trump blocked Biden administration budget, US government is about to shut down? Hillary Clinton: World’s richest man wants poor families to lose benefits
A budget drafted by the Republican Party and supported by US President-elect Donald Trump was voted on in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday. The bill failed after dozens of House Republicans defected and voted against it.
Previously, Trump on the 18th to the congressional two parties have roughly reached an agreement on the short-term spending bill expressed opposition, under the pressure of House Speaker Mike Johnson had no way, can only “hard scalp” hurriedly modified a new budget to submit to the vote, the result, the budget that joined Trump’s demands was not passed, The “shutdown crisis” of the US government at the end of the year is particularly fierce this time.
According to reports, if the matter is not quickly resolved within 24 hours, some agencies of the US government will face the fate of shutdown, which will make the life of the American people during the New Year holiday seriously affected.
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the 19th rare voice on the matter, she expressed anger at Musk and other few people “politics”, she said on social media: “Now the Republican Party takes orders from the richest man in the world (Musk).”
The vote on the interim budget failed
The presiding officer smashed the gavel to maintain order For American politics, in recent years, the “government shutdown” budget fight has become a commonplace, it seems that each time the two parties can reach a compromise at the last moment before the real “shutdown deadline” to pass a new bill, so that the various agencies of the federal government can continue to operate.
In late September, Congress passed a short-term spending bill that would extend funding for the federal government from Sept. 30 to Dec. 20. Seeing that the “deadline is coming again,” both parties in Congress are “tacitly” preparing to pass a bill to extend the deadline for funding the federal government until March 14 next year. However, Trump is very unhappy with the bill, which he believes is biased in favor of Democrats.
Trump’s main demand is to add in the bill to raise the debt ceiling content, because Trump plans to implement large-scale tax cuts will inevitably reduce the US government tax revenue, he must increase borrowing to make up for this gap. At the same time, he wants to cut government spending, especially if he does not want a Democratic administration to “crowd out” the borrowing space in the last few months. At the same time, Musk also stood on Trump’s side, and on the 18th, he lashed out at the previous bipartisan budget agreement on social media.
Under the pressure of Trump and Musk, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson had no choice but to hastily revise a new budget to submit to a vote. There are reports that this rushed out of the budget and the previous plan is not significantly different, the biggest difference is that at Trump’s request to add a “suspension of the debt ceiling for the next two years” clause.
On the 19th local time, the rushed budget was voted on by the House of Representatives. According to reports, the voting scene was so fierce that the New York Republican Congressman Molinalo, who presided over the meeting, even broke his gavel in order to maintain order at the scene. In the end, the bill received 174 votes in favor and 235 against. Two Democrats voted for the bill and one abstained, while 38 Republicans defected and voted against it.
Johnson said he had not given up and “will try new solutions,” but gave no details. If the matter cannot be satisfactorily resolved within a day, some agencies of the US federal government will be shut down from the 21st. Some analysts say that the moderate Johnson himself lacks leadership and presence within the Republican Party, and the failure of the budget vote makes his position as Speaker very dangerous. Many political commentators believe Johnson will almost certainly be replaced by someone else once Trump officially takes office.
Director of the Transportation Security Administration:
The shutdown will lead to long lines at airports over the New Year’s holiday
The president of the United States is supposed to be the head of the executive branch (government) of the United States, but Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of shutting down the government in his first term as president, and can also “walk the talk.” From December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019, the United States government shut down for 35 days, the longest shutdown in the country’s recent history.
According to statistics, nine federal government departments were suspended during the shutdown, a quarter of government activities were interrupted or affected, and direct economic losses exceeded $3 billion. The cause of the US government shutdown was the breakdown of budget negotiations between the two parties due to Trump’s demand for increased funding for “building a wall” at the border.
According to reports, the shutdown of the US government will have a real impact on the daily life of people in the United States. David Pekoske, the head of the Transportation Security Administration, warned on the 19th local time that if the US government is in a state of shutdown, it may cause passengers to wait longer at airports.
An important job of the Transportation Security Administration is to be responsible for security screening at U.S. airports. Of the division’s 62,000 employees, about 59,000 are in “essential positions,” Mr Pekoske said. According to the law, if government funds are cut off, the work of many front-line employees will be suspended, except for a small number of officials who must work without pay.
In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration is responsible for important tasks such as air traffic control. The department expects that if the U.S. government shuts down after 21, it will have to temporarily lay off 17,000 employees and suspend job training for air traffic controllers. In the government shutdown event from the end of 2018 to the beginning of 2019, the number of absences of officials and front-line employees of the Federal Aviation Administration surged, and in order to ensure safety, airports across the United States had to slow down the pace of passenger aircraft in and out of ports, resulting in a large area of the United States “air traffic jam.”
The year 2024 coincides with a full recovery in domestic travel, and the number of domestic airline passengers during the Thanksgiving holiday in November this year has broken the record for the same period. The Transportation Security Administration estimates that about 40 million people will be screened at airports this holiday season, and the slowdown will put a huge strain on airport ground handling services.
Hillary Clinton’s rare outburst:
Musk, the world’s richest man, runs the Republican Party
Former US Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton posted a post on the 19th local time, attacking Musk: “If you have just turned on your computer to catch up on current events, you should know that at the behest of the richest man in the world (Musk), the Republicans have just decided to shut down the US government for the holidays, they want our troops to go without pay, and poor families to lose food benefits.”
In the House of Representatives, Republicans, under pressure from Trump and Musk, abandoned a previous bipartisan budget deal. Musk warned all members of Congress on social media: Anyone who dares to support the original budget bill will be removed from office within two years (midterm elections). As the world’s richest man and a massive financial backer of Mr Trump, Mr Musk’s threats carry a lot of weight. “A few people control everything, and now everyone lives in fear of them,” complains Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat.
Many Democrats have since expressed an unwillingness to work with Republicans on the budget. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “Musk and Johnson’s proposal is not serious, it’s laughable.” Extreme MAGA Republicans are forcing our government to shut down. It will hurt ordinary Americans, and the Republican Party must take full responsibility for that hurt.” There is also a lot of internal discontent about the influence of Trump and Musk in the Republican Party. Republican Representative Kevin Hearn said that Musk and other people opposed the original budget on the grounds of “fiscal responsibility” and called for cuts in medical spending, “to this point, how dare they say they are responsible.”
In addition, some analysts believe that although Trump advocates spending cuts and seems to be in line with the traditional “small government” concept of the Republican Party, his large-scale tax cuts are expected to reduce the tax revenue of the US government by about $8 trillion in 10 years, greatly increasing the burden of fiscal deficits. What’s more, the benefits of a massive tax cut are not shared equally among all Americans, and super-rich people like Musk will enjoy the most convenience in the tax cut plan.
A special investigation team under the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency has launched a closed investigation into acting President Han Duck-soo, Yonhap News Agency reported on May 20.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, December 16, 2024: In the past 12 months, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Chicago have seized 121 prohibited products, including more than 3.2 million e-cigarette products with a total manufacturer’s suggested retail price of more than $81.5 million.
Almost all of the goods came from China and were destined for various parts of the United States. Most of the goods violated the FDA’s Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), and some of the goods were seized for intellectual property infringement. Some of the intellectual property infringements involved used unauthorized trademarks associated with pop idols. By copying these well-known trademarks, sellers target teenagers and young adults, hoping to convince them to buy their counterfeit goods.
“Criminals often use well-known figures and brands to promote their products. They use the names of Internet celebrities with a large number of fans to specifically target young audiences,” said LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, director of field operations for the Chicago Field Office.
In addition to infringing intellectual property rights, they lack the necessary FDA authorization and are adulterated and mislabeled in violation of the Federal Food and Drug Administration Act. E-cigarettes that are not approved by the FDA may contain higher concentrations of nicotine and other unknown toxic chemicals that are extremely harmful to health.
To protect American businesses and consumers, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seizes millions of counterfeit goods every year. These goods include imitations of popular products such as smartphones and related accessories, electronics, clothing, shoes, cosmetics and high-end luxury goods, as well as goods that pose significant health and safety risks, such as counterfeit medicines, bicycle and motorcycle helmets, medical devices, supplements and other consumables.
On Wednesday (December 18th, Eastern Time), Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said at a press conference after the interest rate meeting that the Federal Reserve is at or close to slowing down interest rate cuts, and will make a decision on interest rate cuts based on data next year, and it seems unlikely that it will raise interest rates.
The Federal Reserve announced a 25 basis point rate cut on Wednesday, in line with market expectations, and the target range of the federal funds rate was lowered to 4.25%-4.5%. This is the third consecutive rate cut by the Fed, after cutting rates by 50 basis points and 25 basis points in September and November respectively.
The latest interest rate dot plot shows that policymakers expect two rate cuts in 2025, while the forecast for rate cuts next year reached four times in September.
Although the rate cut was ultimately made in December, Powell claimed it was a difficult but correct decision.
He noted that the Fed is trying to find a balance between the two risks of moving too slowly, which could unnecessarily weaken economic activity in the labor market, and moving too quickly, which could undermine the Fed’s progress in controlling inflation.
On future monetary policy actions
Powell said that after this rate cut, the Fed has lowered the policy rate by a full 100 basis points from its peak, and now the monetary policy stance is significantly less restrictive than before, so policymakers can be more cautious when considering more interest rate adjustments.
Regarding future monetary policy actions, Powell said that any rate cut decision by the Fed in 2025 will be based on upcoming data rather than current economic conditions.
He said that as the Fed is working to keep inflation down to 2% while maintaining a strong labor market, a rate hike next year seems unlikely.
Affirming the performance of the U.S. economy
Powell affirmed the performance of the U.S. economy, using terms such as solid, strong and resilient many times.
He said that the overall economic performance is strong; economic growth in the second half of 2024 is faster than expected; there is no reason to think that the possibility of economic downturn is higher than usual; it is clear that the United States has avoided a recession; and he is very optimistic about the economy.
Powell said that policymakers generally expect GDP growth to remain strong.
Talking about inflation and the job market
The Fed said it will continue to watch progress in improving inflation in 2025, given that year-on-year inflation data remains sticky.
“We will watch for improvements in inflation when considering further rate cuts,” Powell said. “We have made little noticeable progress in 12-month inflation data.”
Powell believes that consumers are feeling more of the impact of high prices rather than the direct effects of high inflation.
“We know very well that prices have risen a lot, and people are really feeling it, including food, transportation and heating bills. This global outbreak of inflation has brought great pain,” he said. “Even though inflation levels have fallen sharply at present, people are still feeling the pressure of high prices, and this is what consumers feel most intuitively.”
He added that the best solution to this is for the Fed to continue working to get inflation down to its target so that wages can keep up with inflation and ultimately restore consumers’ good feelings about the economy.
Powell said policymakers are closely watching the dynamics of the labor market.
“From a number of indicators, we do think that the labor market is cooling, but the cooling is not fast and it does not cause real concerns,” he said.
Some officials have begun to assess the potential impact of Trump’s policies
US President-elect Trump has threatened to implement a radical tariff plan after taking office, and economists generally believe that this may lead to another rise in US inflation.
Powell revealed that some members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) have begun to make preliminary assessments of the possible impact of Trump’s policies.
He also specifically mentioned Trump’s tariff plan, saying it is too early to draw conclusions on how it will affect inflation.
Powell said the Fed has no intention of holding Bitcoin
Trump previously promised that he would implement policies that are favorable to the cryptocurrency industry after taking office and consider establishing a strategic reserve of Bitcoin.
Powell said the Fed does not intend to add Bitcoin to its balance sheet.
“We can’t hold Bitcoin. The Federal Reserve Act stipulates what we can have, and we have no intention of seeking to amend the law. This is something for Congress to consider, but we are not seeking changes at the Fed,” Powell said.
On December 18, local time, in response to questions from CCTV reporters, UN Secretary-General’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric stated that the United Nations welcomed the six-point consensus reached by Chinese and Indian senior officials that day.
Japan’s commercial space company Space One’s small rocket launch fails
On December 18th local time, a small solid-fuel rocket launched by Japan’s commercial aerospace company SPACE ONE failed shortly after launch due to problems during the rocket’s ascent.
On December 16, The New York Times reported that the Biden administration plans to ban China Telecom’s remaining small operations in the United States. Subsequently, a “source” revealed to Reuters that the U.S. Department of Commerce is preparing to further restrict China Telecom Americas due to concerns that it may “obtain U.S. data through cloud computing and Internet businesses and hand it over to the Chinese government,” which confirms the above statement of the New York Times.
According to Reuters, the US government has currently banned Chinese telecom operators such as China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom from providing telephone and retail Internet services in the United States, but has retained a small number of businesses such as cloud services and Internet traffic wholesale. The New York Times said that if the Trump administration agrees to the above measures, the order issued by the US Department of Commerce will deprive China Telecom of its only remaining business in the United States.
According to reports, The New York Times believes that the action against China Telecom is the first time that the US government has announced a response to the so-called “Chinese hacking action.” But US officials admitted that they had no evidence that China Telecom’s US business was involved. The report also said that the ban on China Telecom has far greater symbolic significance than economic impact, because the United States had already begun to reduce China Telecom’s presence before the latest turn in the cyber confrontation between the world’s two largest economies.
Xiang Ligang, chairman of the Zhongguancun Information Consumption Alliance, said that the above business does not involve international roaming between Chinese and American telecom operators, so it will not affect the mobile phone call business of Chinese citizens entering the United States. However, some Chinese companies’ data business in the United States may choose the cloud services of Chinese telecom operators in the United States. If the US Department of Commerce prohibits this business, it means that these Chinese companies cannot choose Chinese telecom operators to store data, but must choose the cloud services of American telecom operators. He believes that this will split the business data of Chinese companies in China and the United States, resulting in reduced efficiency and increased costs. “If the data of Chinese companies’ US business is uploaded to the cloud of American telecom operators, it may involve data security issues.”
According to the Global Times, experts interviewed by reporters believe that behind the United States’ frequent smears on China over so-called cybersecurity issues, there is also the United States’ attempt to further decouple from China in high-tech, and it also reflects the United States’ anxiety in the face of China’s rapid technological development.
According to a report by Syrian TV on the 15th, the Syrian Embassy in the United States in Washington, the capital of the United States, will reopen as early as the 16th.
In March 2014, the US government closed the Syrian Embassy in the United States. The US Embassy in Syria in Damascus, the capital of Syria, was closed in 2012. Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the US State Department, said on the 10th of this month that the US government has no plans to immediately reopen the US Embassy in Syria.
