He came in with a bang but is going out with a whimper. After his 24/7 role on Trump’s election stage and his high-profile rampage through the federal government, billionaire Elon Musk says he’s scaling back his work for the administration and ramping down his political spending. With his image tarnished and businesses facing turbulence, is Musk down for the count — or planning his return as America’s most infamous oligarch?

Today on Lever Time, David Sirota talks to Michael Scherer, a reporter for The Atlantic who has the inside scoop on what happened to Musk and what kinds of ticking time bombs he and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency may have left inside the federal government.

As part of the Tax Revolt series, Arjun Singh appeared on the podcast "Why is this Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast" to breakdown the latest developments of Trump's tax cut, which recently passed the House. 

This is a preview of the discussion, for the rest of this conversation, download Why Is This Happening wherever you get your podcasts or watch on YouTube at msnbc.com/withpod. 

One of the most powerful Republicans in the country has been called a teddy bear. Grover Norquist, the head of the activist group Americans for Tax Reform, certainly doesn’t come across as an anarcho-capitalist power player. 

Recently, Norquist has waged a vendetta against “traitors” in the White House — staffers who are reportedly considering raising taxes on the rich, which may include Vice President J.D. Vance, and the architect of Trump’s first presidential campaign, Steve Bannon.

On the finale of “Tax Revolt,” senior podcast producer Arjun Singh sits down with Norquist to understand: Is the antitax movement’s grip on the Republican party as strong as ever?

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Former President George H.W. Bush once thought supply-side economics was so ludicrous he deemed it “voodoo economics.” But that was before Ronald Reagan transformed the Republican Party into a trickle-down, tax-cutting cult. 

To follow in Reagan’s footsteps, Bush promised conservatives that he would never raise taxes — but then did something nobody expected. That decision would seal his fate, with the anti-tax movement making sure no Republican ever dared cross them again — and that included Bush’s son.

This is Part 3 of Tax Revolt, a new miniseries from Lever Time revealing how free-market radicals hijacked American politics and set the stage for Elon Musk, DOGE, and Donald Trump’s presidency.

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How a small group of economists shaped Reagan’s tax policy and the future of the Republican party. 

This is Part 2 of Tax Revolt, a new miniseries from Lever Time revealing how free-market radicals hijacked American politics and set the stage for Elon Musk, DOGE, and Donald Trump’s presidency.

Want more? Become a paid subscriber to get ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content, like an exclusive interview we conducted with the godfather of trickle-down economics. By doing so, you’ll be supporting independent journalism: levernews.com/subscribe

In the 1970s, an eccentric anti-tax crusader launched a radical campaign to dismantle California’s tax system — a movement that still defines American politics today.

This is Part 1 of Tax Revolt, a new mini-series from Lever Time revealing how free-market radicals hijacked American politics and set the stage for Elon Musk, DOGE and Donald Trump’s presidency.

Want more? Become a paid subscriber to get ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content — and support independent journalism: levernews.com/subscribe

Plus, read a bonus companion article about the anti-tax zealot behind Proposition 13, written by producer Ariella Markowitz. 

Listen to the 3-min trailer for Tax Revolt, a new limited series from Lever Time. Part 1 of 4 premieres April 18.

Learn more at LeverNews.com/TaxRevolt

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The president of one of America’s largest industrial unions made headlines last month when he declared that some of Trump’s tariffs are the beginning of the end of a trade policy that has harmed America’s working class. On this episode of Lever Time, David Sirota speaks to United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain about blue-collar workers’ experience with 30 years of existing free trade policies. 

They discuss whether Trump’s new tariffs will end up doing more harm than good. They also discuss Fain’s assertion that Democrats have too often taken the labor movement for granted — especially when it comes to championing corporate-written trade policies, which he says have ended up alienating Democrats from the working class.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump unveiled his plans for far-reaching new tariffs on almost all imported goods entering the United States. The move has plunged the global economy into turmoil amid fears of a wider trade war and higher consumer prices. 

The tariffs are the culmination of a populist backlash simmering since NAFTA and the 2000 China trade deal. The elimination of trade barriers at the time hammered America’s industrial heartland amid warnings of a “giant sucking sound” of jobs and factories leaving the United States. But will Trump’s new tariffs do more harm than good? And will they open the floodgates to another deluge of corruption? 

To answer those questions and understand what the tariffs mean for you, David Sirota sits down with veteran New York Times reporter Peter Goodman to discuss the real-world effects of what Trump is calling “Liberation Day."

If you own a Fortune 500 business, you probably incorporated it in Delaware. The state has long been favored by corporate America, offering tax benefits and a bespoke, pre-Revolutionary War court system tailored to business needs. But now Delaware’s standing as the country’s top corporate haven is under attack.

This week on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh sits down with The Lever’s Katya Schwenk and Luke Goldstein to learn why the tiny East Coast state has been the United States’ corporate haven for decades. But there’s more to the story. Why are other states now battling to seize its title — and how does it impact the rest of us? And finally, how is  Elon Musk making everything worse?

Lever reporting explains why Delaware is ground zero in the national oligarch takeover and why what happens in Delaware doesn’t stay in Delaware. It means corporate deregulation from coast to coast.