Raw Story

A lead Treasury official suddenly quit after Elon Musk sent "engineers" into the agency to figure out ways to halt funds for various projects, the New York Times reported Friday.

The Times reported that David Lebryk, a career civil servant who ensures billions in payments are being made, has left amid the Trump administration's purge of federal employees.

It came days after "Elon Musk deployed engineers to the agency to find a way to shut off funds to various projects," the Times reported.

ALSO READ: Americans are doubling down on the thing that hurts them the most

Lebryk led the team of people who cut checks to Social Security recipients, government employees, contractors and other

Musk claims he'll cut $2 trillion from government spending in the next year.

See the full report here.

As President Donald Trump attempted to vilify diversity initiatives in the wake of the worst U.S. air disaster in decades, progressives warned that the true threat to aviation safety going forward is Trump and billionaire Elon Musk's shared goal of gutting the federal workforce and eliminating regulatory efforts that have helped make flying the nation's least dangerous form of transportation.

"We need to learn more about what happened and how to prevent this type of catastrophe in the future," Joel Payne, chief communications officer at MoveOn Civil Action, said in a statement Thursday. "But one thing is for sure—our air safety and disaster response relies on the same type of federal funding and resources that Donald Trump and his right-wing billionaire backers like Elon Musk have been moving to cut."

Echoing others, Payne noted since Trump's second term began less than two weeks ago, he implemented a hiring freeze that appears to include air traffic controllers and dismantled the Aviation Security Advisory Committee. Payne also pointed to Musk's role in leaving the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) without a permanent leader following the collision of a passenger jet and Army helicopter that killed 64 people.

"There are real consequences for the American people from the chaos and mismanagement that we have already seen since Trump took office," said Payne. "As we work to learn the lessons of this tragedy, we need Trump, his allies, and his administration to end their assault on the public services that are essential to keeping us safe."

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) similarly argued that "what actually hurts aviation safety" is "purging the federal workforce of career public servants and experts who have spent their entire lives working to keep the American people safe."

"It's too early in the process for the crash to be definitively pinned on the policies of Trump and Musk. But if we want more airline disasters, Trump and Musk are on just the right collision course."

The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to release a preliminary report on the deadly collision within 30 days as investigators work to determine the immediate causes of the catastrophic incident.

As Common Dreamsreported, the FAA indicated Thursday that air traffic control staffing was "not normal" at the time of the collision. Air traffic control understaffing is a nationwide problem that analysts said could be exacerbated by the new administration's far-reaching attacks on federal workers and funding.

"The government is a complex and delicate system. Letting Elon Musk thrash around inside it like some silage-drunk bull in a red-cape factory will cause untold damage," The American Prospect's Ryan Cooper wrote Thursday. "The details are still being investigated. It's too early in the process for the crash to be definitively pinned on the policies of Trump and Musk. But if we want more airline disasters, Trump and Musk are on just the right collision course."

President Donald Trump's official meme coin isn't just rubbing some cryptocurrency executives the wrong way -- it's also annoying some of his run-of-the-mill MAGA supporters.

The Guardian has flagged some comments posted on a pro-Trump subreddit recently that show disillusionment with Trump's decision to launch his own digital currency, which surged in value shortly after being released only to see its price plunge in the following weeks.

Many MAGA fans on the subreddit believed that Trump's meme coin was a quick cash-grab at the expense of his fans, many of whom may have plugged significant chunks of cash into it early on, only to see its value quickly evaporate.

Among other things, posters on the forum described the coin as "degrad[ing] to the office of the Presidency,” “a lame money grab,” “a bad idea with a million ways to go wrong and derail his second term,” “shady,” and “kinda gross."

ALSO READ: Senator: RFK Jr. lied about vaccines like Brett Kavanaugh lied about Roe v. Wade

Another poster argued that Trump's meme coin "looks bad and is bad," while yet another declared that "this crypto is the most blatant Ponzi scheme in history and we are the marks."

These criticisms haven't stopped Trump and his business partners from further getting into the cryptocurrency business, writes The Guardian.

"On Tuesday, the Trump Media and Technology Group, which operates Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, announced the launch of a financial technology brand called 'Truth.Fi,' through which the company plans to invest up to $250m in crypto-currencies and 'crypto securities,' and other investment accounts," the publication writes.

WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continued testifying on Capitol Hill Thursday and failed to clean up past comments opposing vaccines.

One Democratic Senator is drawing a stark comparison between Kennedy and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

In the case of Kennedy, the environmental lawyer may have spent decades claiming vaccines cause autism, but when speaking before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, he was forced to answer questions from actual medical experts.

ALSO READ: RFK Jr. botched his financial reports — omitting $500,000 in anti-vax and law income

“I do believe that autism comes from vaccines,” Kennedy told Fox News in 2023.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a physician, hammered Kennedy for refusing to believe scientific studies and evidence that don't confirm his beliefs.

“Will you reassure mothers unequivocally and without qualification that the measles and hepatitis B vaccines do not cause autism?” Cassidy asked.

“If the data is there, I will absolutely do that,” RFK Jr. responded.

"I think he was cleaver in answering questions," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) told Raw Story at the Capitol. "But shame on us if we let these people show up to these hearings and lie to us."

"It's stunning," Murphy continued, "he spent his entire career dedicated to undermining vaccines and he can come in these hearings and say, 'Don't pay attention to my entire career. Don't pay any attention to everything I believe, just listen to what I'm telling you right now.' Shame on us if we wave him through, but that's what they did to Kavanaugh..."

The reference was a back-handed comment to Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who voted to confirm Kavanaugh despite her pro-choice pledge.

"There has also been considerable focus on the future of abortion rights based on the concern that Judge Kavanaugh would seek to overturn Roe v. Wade. Protecting this right is important to me," Collins said in a statement in 2018. "To my knowledge, Judge Kavanaugh is the first Supreme Court nominee to express the view that precedent is not merely a practice and tradition, but rooted in Article III of our Constitution itself. He believes that precedent 'is not just a judicial policy … it is constitutionally dictated to pay attention and pay heed to rules of precedent.' In other words, precedent isn’t a goal or an aspiration; it is a constitutional tenet that has to be followed except in the most extraordinary circumstances."

Kavanaugh then voted to eliminate the landmark Roe ruling, which removed reproductive rights from U.S. women.

On Friday morning, MSNBC juxtaposed footage of former President Ronald Reagan somberly addressing the nation after the 1986 Challenger explosion that shocked the nation in 1986 with Donald Trump's finger-pointing press conference to address a commercial plane crash over the Potomac two days ago.

Introduced by "Morning Joe" co-host Jonathan Lemire –– who was highly critical of the president's performance on MSNBC earlier –– the dueling presidential statement clip labeled "How Leaders Address the Nation During Tragedies" demonstrated what they suggested was Trump's startling lack of empathy for the victims and their families as he used it to attempt to score political points.

After Reagan was shown saying, "On behalf of the first lady, myself and 340 million Americans, our hearts are shattered alongside yours, and our prayers are with you now and in the days to come," Trump was shown telling reporters, "We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas."

ALSO READ: Top GOPer's ‘most immediate’ priority for new committee includes probing a MAGA conspiracy

With Reagan continuing, "I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it," Trump offered up to the country, "The FAA says people with severe disabilities are the most underrepresented segment of the workforce, and they want them in and they want them, they can be air traffic controllers. I don't think so. "

"To the schoolchildren of America, who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff, I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery," Reagan consoled the country while Trump instead continued to point the finger elsewhere by blaming the tragedy on DEI, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and President Joe Biden's administration.

After the clip ran, MSNBC's Lemire bluntly stated, "That contrast couldn't be starker."

Watch below or at the link.

- YouTube youtu.be

Among Donald Trump's first actions as president was to fire anyone at the Justice Department that had anything to do with the special counsel's investigations into him. Attorney General Pam Bondi and other government agency heads have also begun the purge of federal employees, and some onlookers believe those left will likely be faced with defending or prosecuting whatever Trump tells them.

The New York Times reported that the group Justice Connection, led by career prosecutor Stacey Young, will provide guidance to those who remain to help those lawyers.

Young, who was forced out last week in the Trump purge, said the group intends to focus on the DOJ for now but hopes to replicate the model for other federal agencies. The goals will be to help the employees with "legal issues, whistle-blowing, leaking to the news media, aiding with digital and physical security and, if they resign, finding jobs in the private sector."

ALSO READ: 'He can't erase it': J6 committee members speak out after final Jack Smith report drops

“The animus coming from the administration is unprecedented and terrifying,” Young said. “Most employees are terrified about the stability of their jobs. They’re worried about being fired or transferred or demoted or demeaned or doxxed. There are far more unanswered questions than answers right now, and the fear and confusion is palpable and may only grow.”

“The president had promised to dismantle the civil service, and they’ve been aggressively pursuing that project in just two weeks,” Young continued. “Right now, DOJ employees are sitting ducks, and many well-meaning people are calling on them to just keep sitting. That’s not going to work. If they’re going to stay, they’re going to need help.”

She said she hopes to raise about $1 million to maintain a staff of about a dozen people, though they may need their own legal or safety budget if Trump begins to see them as a target.

"Justice Connection will fight against the lies by telling the truth — in Congress, online and in the press — about why a safe and just America requires career professionals at DOJ: FBI intelligence analysts, victim advocates, forensic scientists, ATF special agents and civil rights attorneys among them," said Young's prospectus.

Young was shoved out due to her role as president of the Department of Justice Gender Equality Network, likely seen as part of the anti-diversity purge.

Read the full report here.