I am a registered independent, so I come at writing this petition from a more neutral standpoint than if I were a member of a political party. However, I am also someone who cares deeply about the United States, and I want our democracy to stay a democracy. Unfortunately, I see that being undermined by the appointment of Musk to the position of the head of DOGE. My reasons for this are as follows: 

First, he was not elected, nor has he been approved for his position by Congress. Other cabinet officials get vetted and voted on by Congress. 

Second, he is in charge of a department that does not exist officially. Congress has the right to establish a new government agency, not Musk. (I say not Musk, because he was able to name it and is the person in charge of it, which I imagine was easy for him to do after investing over $290 million into Trump's campaign.) In effect, Musk is determining what the department is and does. Sure, Trump says that things are run by him, but there is no check from Congress, which is the body of government that makes the laws about how the money we (citizens) pay to it. How can I know if Musk is following the laws when there is no transparency? 

Third, Musk is determining what corruption is and what it is not without providing any evidence of such corruption. I say this because he specifically stated that USAID was full of corruption. Such generalizations only cause people to see those who work in the federal government as enemies, which only escalates the anger in a country that is very divided. We need less anger, not more, if we are ever going to come together. Please hear me when I say, that it isn't that I don't believe there is corruption necessarily, but without any evidence it seems a lot for me to just trust because Musk said it and Trump repeated it to the press after admitting that he heard it from Musk. 

Going further into the example of Musk calling USAID a corrupt department, it might help to know what it is. USAID is a department that provides assistance to other countries, which allows us to have influence all over the world. That influence keeps us safe, and people alive. It really seems to me that without any transparency about what Musk is doing, he is committing the real corruption. How do I know that he isn't doing what Putin wants him to do? After all, he's admitted to speaking to Putin on the phone fairly regularly. He can choose to be friends with a dictator who kills those who disagree with him, but I don't want to be...nor has the USA decided to be. 

Fourth, Musk is supposedly rooting out waste as demonstrated by a scrolling ticker on Fox News, yet, details are not being given about what the waste is. So, again, how am I to know, as a citizen of the USA if he is following the laws that Congress passed? Additionally, what if he rids our country of funding that has a purpose that all USA citizens want, and because he doesn't see a need for it, he eliminates it? It seems quite possible that a billionaire might not be able to understand fully what someone living day-to-day or even who just makes $100,000 a year needs/cares about. This is why the people should have a say. 

Fifth, given that he benefits from a vast amount of government contracts, how I am to know that he isn't just setting up a system that benefits himself? It seems suspicious that suddenly we are not interested in providing aid to countries in Africa, as well as Central and South America. I get that people might wonder why we need to give them aid, but by doing so, it allows us to have influence on those countries. Without that, an opportunity is opened for China or Russia to move in, and therefore have more influence in the world and arguably moves us closer to becoming a communist country. I don't want to live in a communist country. It is also important to note that Musk has a personal interest in China doing well because it will benefit his pocketbook.

Six, Musk and his companies paid zero in taxes last year, and for several years. So, what gives him the right to decide how the limited tax money (limited because he doesn't pay taxes) should be spent? Again Congress should be protesting this takeover of their power, but Musk threatened them by saying he will pay to find a candidate to run against any of them that stand up to him. I've lost jobs before and to do it in such a public manner, with Musk likely heckling you and getting others to do it too, is unjust and just wrong to say the least. How is an unelected person able to get away with bullying elected representatives of the people? I cannot stand by and not speak up about it. 

Seventh, by the government departments, such as the State Department, no longer issuing press releases but instead stating that they will only communicate by X, it gives Musk even more influence over the citizens of this great country. How do I know that he isn't deciding what we, the people, can see on X and what we can't? Certainly he has to be, given that algorithms are written by people and people are not perfect. It also forces me, a citizen who has a right to know what my government is doing, to join X to find out what is going on. I do not want to be told by my government what social media platform I need to participate in, I want the government to stay out of those decisions. To make that happen, Musk must go. 

Finally, Musk does not have the security clearances needed to obtain the sensitive and classified information that he is obtaining. How do I know he isn't going to walk out with it since he's placed such information on his computer systems? Sure, Trump could override any decision about him not getting a security clearance, but it seems that for such an important position one would need to obtain a security clearance through the proper channels--especially if access to the USA checkbook is being granted.