Big Balls or Big Government

Can't There Be a Choice C?

The first twenty days of President Donald Trump’s second term have been unprecedented. Not only has his Administration brought about monumental change, but it has done so at an incredible pace. When a new president is inaugurated, we generally monitor his progress in the first hundred days. Apparently, Trump thought he would be judged on his first hundred hours.

Of all the things the Administration has done since January 20th, actions taken by the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”) may be the most intriguing and consequential.

During the 2024 campaign, Trump promised to audit government programs in order to root out waste, fraud, and abuse. He enlisted the help of Tesla and SpaceX creator Elon Musk, along with former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy has moved on from DOGE to run for governor in the State of Ohio. Musk is now the face of DOGE.

On Trump’s first day in office, Musk and his merry band of boy geniuses (this is not sarcasm) set out to expose how your tax dollars are being spent. The first high profile agency to be examined was The United States Agency for International Development (“USAID”). USAID was created when I was 32 days old by an executive order signed by President John Kennedy. Its purpose was to help carry out the intent of the Foreign Assistance Act. USAID would be the Agency to direct America’s foreign aid operation.

There seems to have been some mission creep by USAID. As of 2025, USAID had become a money laundering operation that funnels taxpayer dollars to prominent (mostly liberal) politicians, power brokers, and media outlets. In addition, USAID now funds a laundry list of ridiculous, woke causes that have no business receiving funding of any kind from the United States. If you need LGBTQ education or pronoun lessons to be taught in Botswana, USAID will be there for you.

DOGE plans to extend its audits to include the Department of Education, Department of Defense, and likely every other federal government agency.

Not surprisingly, the power brokers in Washington are not impressed. Accountability is kryptonite for politicians and bureaucrats. To say that politicians on the left have become hysterical would be an understatement. In addition to the politicians complaining, lawsuits have been filed to prevent DOGE personnel from gaining access to government information.

Musk is being criticized for hiring a 19-year-old computer whiz by the name of Edward Coristine, who has become known for his online name, Big Balls, which is easier to spell than Coristine. Musk’s critics question whether Coristine should be trusted with sensitive information. Coristine’s track record is not pristine. At one point in his career, Coristine was terminated from a company called Path Network because he allegedly shared proprietary information with a competitor. In addition, he has been involved in other business ventures that call his judgment into question.

Big Balls is not the only problem with DOGE, according to some. Critics (correctly) point out that DOGE personnel are not government employees. They argue that all or most of the people working for DOGE are not properly vetted, and therefore should not have access to sensitive information. Of course, we also don’t know whether all federal government employees with access to sensitive information have been properly vetted. How much do we really know about IRS and other federal government employees who have access to Social Security numbers, among other things? I suspect our boy Big Balls is a paragon of virtue beside some of the clowns employed by the federal government.

I fully support what Trump and Musk are trying to do with DOGE. I have no doubt that billions (if not trillions) of taxpayer dollars are wasted and misused every year. However, public support for this effort must be maintained if it is to succeed. Therefore, the identities of DOGE personnel should be disclosed. In addition, the American people should be told what precautions are being taken to make sure the process is secure and that those who have access to your information are trustworthy. Up until now, Elon Musk has achieved his success in the private sector, where broad public support is not required for success. Up until now, Musk was not accountable to the general public. However, working with the government demands transparency and accountability.

Trump 2.0 is far more successful (so far) than Trump 1.0, in part because Trump has garnered popular support for his agenda, and Americans believe he is trying to do the right things. I want to make sure that support remains strong for the noble task Elon Musk has undertaken. Transparency will be a big part of maintaining that support.