Comment by _heimdall

> Elon is literally closing agencies

Is he? I mean this as an honest question, things have moved quickly enough that its hard to keep up.

My understanding that they have been temporarily closing offices or stopping work. I wouldn't consider that as "literally closing agencies" though, at least for me that reads as closing them down permanently rather than temporarily closing the doors.

I don't ask this to defend what they're doing at all. I think we could be much worse off if they're only gutting the agencies without closing them completely.

The executive branch has been given an immense amount of authority over the last half century or so, if that is used to rebuild different agencies technically still fulfilling congressional mandates for USAID or CFPB we could be in for a rude awakening.

Authority is fine when you agree with it, but as soon as the wrong person has that same power you may find you wish it was never granted in the first place.