Will President Elon Musk Do to the Federal Government What He Did to Twitter?

An unchecked, unelected billionaire is pulling the strings behind key systems that sustain American society—leaving uncertainty about how many people might suffer as a result.

It almost reads like the script of a dystopian sci-fi thriller: The wealthiest man in the world aligns himself with—and helps finance—a fellow tycoon who ascends to the U.S. presidency. In return, this new leader grants his affluent ally unfettered access to critical government operations. Almost immediately, this unpredictable billionaire sets his sights on a little-known but powerful office responsible for issuing every check the federal government writes—positioning himself to disrupt the U.S. and global economy or even destabilize the very administration that empowered him.