The president has subcontracted the work of the legislative and executive branches to tech oligarch Elon Musk, who is dismantling agencies created and funded by our elected members of Congress. It’s not about reform or efficiency, but destruction.

He is violating the Constitution, breaking multiple laws and illegally firing workers in critical agencies. He is proposing to replace many employees with AI, turning our government into a real-time tech experiment that nobody voted for. He is withholding funds from countless projects, leaving states and local communities holding the bag, damaging private contractors and their employees in the process.

These actions aren’t conservative; they are radical, illegal and blatantly authoritarian. It’s a coup attempt. The administration knows that many of their actions are illegal. Both Trump and J.D. Vance, protege of tech oligarch Peter Thiel, have suggested that the administration is ready to ignore court decisions that don’t go its way. That is illegal and unconstitutional.

The billionaires ravaging our republic care only about consolidating power and amassing even greater wealth at the expense of literally everyone else. While they distract us with culture wars, they are imposing extreme austerity for the masses to pay for massive tax cuts for the wealthiest. Republican-leaning rural counties rely most on federal assistance and will be hit hardest.

Most of us, including many who voted for Trump, don’t want oligarchs to destroy our system of government. Let’s set aside our differences, work together and stop this power grab now.

Chris Morris

Williamsburg