Raw Story: 'Can it be done?' Mike Johnson seeks to shut 75% of federal agencies with Elon Musk's help

[Dennis Donovan]

Raw Story - 'Can it be done?' Mike Johnson seeks to shut 75% of federal agencies with Elon Musk's help

David Edwards
December 4, 2024 4:10PM ET

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he hoped to work with billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to eliminate more than 75% of federal agencies.

During a Wednesday interview on Fox News, host Martha MacCallum told Johnson, "Musk wants to take government agencies from 428 to 99."

"Can it be done?" she asked.

"We certainly hope so," Johnson replied. "We want to be willing partners in that. And we have a new ability to do this now."

"You know, we have our own version of the Argentinian leader with Donald Trump," he continued. "We do have to scale back the size and scope of government. It serves the people. It unleashes the free market again."

Johnson specifically said that he would like to see funding for Planned Parenthood and PBS eliminated as part of the cuts.

/snip

[Kid Berwyn]

1. Just like MAGA planned it.

"Argentina? Nyet. Chile, da. Pinochet."

[UpInArms]

2. A look at Argentina's president

And he certainly took swift action. In his initial package of measures, he devalued Argentina’s currency, the peso, by 50%, slashed state subsidies for fuel, and cut the number of government ministries by half.

… snip …

Inflation has slowed - in April the month-on-month rate fell to 8.8%, the first time since October that it was not in double figures. This inflation measure is closely followed in countries like Argentina that have long had high inflation.
Yet when it comes to the more globally recognised annual inflation rate, this hit 289.4% in April. To put that into perspective, in the UK the annual rate is currently just 2.3%.
And although official growth figures are not yet available for the period since Mr Milei took office on 10 December, there is evidence that Argentina's economy has contracted sharply, with consumer spending dropping off in the first three months of this year.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm55yv0g0veo

Much more at the link above

[Hekate]

3. The irony is that for the massive amount of damage planned, the fed money is minuscule

PBS and Planned Parenthood — it’s all about raw hatred of any kind of freedom, isn’t it?

[maxsolomon]

4. They're going to touch the 3rd rail eventually and provoke a reaction.

Or it will be cosmetic - merging some under new umbrella names, and then claiming victory.

WTF did PBS ever do to Republicans? They don't like Antiques Roadshow, or Kermit?

[lame54]

5. PBS is for...

Deep rural areas that can't get or afford cable
You know
Trump voters