Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has accessed sensitive information at the treasury and gutted the United States Agency for International Development. On this week’s On the Media, how a tech magazine scooped mainstream outlets with its reporting on the DOGE taskforce. Plus, at the Department of Justice, data wipes and mass firings target records of January 6.

[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger sits down with Vittoria Elliott, reporter for WIRED covering platforms and power. This week WIRED has been covering Elon Musk’s rampage through the federal agencies, and has been the first to report on several key stories

[12:51] Micah speaks with Ryan J. Reilly, who covers the Justice Department and federal law enforcement for NBC News, about President Donald Trump’s campaign of retribution against those in the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation who he feels unfairly targeted him and his followers.

[26:09] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Representative Don Beyer of Virginia to talk about Democrats' approach as President Trump challenges Congress’ power. Brooke also speaks with Ezra Levin, co-founder and co-executive director of the nonprofit Indivisible, about Democrats’ PR strategies, and the party’s resistance to using the Mitch McConnell playbook to push back against the G.O.P.

Further reading:

• “The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk’s Government Takeover,” By Vittoria Elliott
• “The US Treasury Claimed DOGE Technologist Didn’t Have ‘Write Access’ When He Actually Did,” By Vittoria Elliott, Leah Feiger, Tim Marchman
• “Trump administration forces out multiple senior FBI officials and January 6 prosecutors,” By Ken Dilanian, Tom Winter, Ryan J. Reilly and Michael Kosnar
• Sedition Hunters: How January 6th Broke the Justice System, By Ryan Reilly
• “Here's How Democrats Can Stop Trump and Musk,”by Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.