February 14, 2025

Musk and DOGE Are NOT Saving the Government Money

February 14, 2025 Buck Banks

$30 billion a day

The Economist: “Every working day the Treasury publishes a statement detailing withdrawals of cash from its primary deposit account, providing the best high-frequency indicator of government spending. Since Donald Trump took office a little more than three weeks ago, outlays have averaged $30bn a day. Compare that with the same period last year under Joe Biden: federal spending back then came to about $26bn a day. … Outflows from the Treasury have actually risen since January 28th, when Mr Musk first claimed his ‘Department of Government Efficiency’, or DOGE, was saving the federal government $1bn a day.”

Resisting Trump’s ‘Denali’ Folly

February 14, 2025 Buck Banks

Two Alaska senators are starting a GOP mini-rally
To reverse Donald Trump’s nomenclature folly.
They are bucking the trend,
So we’ll see where it ends
When they try to change “Mount McKinley” back to “Denali.”

Trump’s Honeymoon Is Ending — Approval/Favorability Already Underwater

February 14, 2025 Buck Banks

46%

A new Economist/YouGov Poll finds President Trump’s approval rating and personal popularity falling over the past two weeks. This week’s poll finds Americans are less likely to approve of Trump (46%) than to disapprove (48%), and less likely to view him favorably (46%) than unfavorably (52%).

Day: February 14, 2025

Musk and DOGE Are NOT Saving the Government Money

$30 billion a day

Resisting Trump’s ‘Denali’ Folly

Trump’s Honeymoon Is Ending — Approval/Favorability Already Underwater

46%

A new Economist/YouGov Poll finds President Trump’s approval rating and personal popularity falling over the past two weeks. This week’s poll finds Americans are less likely to approve of Trump (46%) than to disapprove (48%), and less likely to view him favorably (46%) than unfavorably (52%).

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“If you are committing fraud against the American people, all of us in public leadership should be trying to stop it and throw you in prison for enriching yourself off the American taxpayer.”

— Vice President JD Vance, on Fox News.

“Your generation has a great bullshit meter, because you’re fed bullshit online all day. And the Democratic Party brand right now is so bullshit.”

— Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D), quoted by The Atlantic, speaking to college students.

“We are done, Americans are done with endless conflict in the Middle East, spending trillions of dollars, American lives… this is insane and we have to call it for what it is.”

— Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), on CNN.

Numerati

+175,000

“The U.S. State Department announced on Monday that it has revoked more than 175,000 visas during President Donald Trump’s administration so far,” Fox News reports.

$4,600

11

30%

A new American Research Group poll finds just 30% of Americans say they approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president and 67% say they disapprove.

61% to 35%