Is it a coup? That’s not a question we ever thought would be asked about government action in the United States.

But, here we are with Elon Musk, a foreign-born billionaire installed by President Donald Trump with no vetting from Congress as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a government entity in name only, taking over federal agencies and shutting others down.

“The ongoing actions by Musk and his followers are a coup because the individuals seizing power have no right to it,” Timothy Snyder, a professor of history and global affairs at Yale University, wrote on his blog this week. “Elon Musk was elected to no office and there is no office that would give him the authority to do what he is doing. It is all illegal.”

A first target was the U.S. Agency for International Development. On Monday, yellow police tape blocked access to the lobby and hundreds of employees were locked out of computer systems, which was taken over by Musk minions over the weekend. Musk says President Donald Trump allowed him to shutter the agency.

On Wednesday, representatives of DOGE barged their way into the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Commerce and their computer systems.

That weekend, Musk and a small gaggle of his tech minions gained access to the country’s largest payment system, which handles Social Security, Medicare and tax payments. There are fears that personal data and records at the Treasury Department may now be in the hands of a group of young guys whose identities Musk has tried, unsuccessfully, to hide.

After a lawsuit was filed to stop this data privacy invasion, the Treasury Department agreed Thursday to not directly share this data with Musk’s group. Members of the group will still have “read only” access to this data.

If this is not an actual coup, it is a worrisome hack — enabled by the president.

What were they planning to do with this information? Is Musk trying to get information on his competitors so he can put them out of business?

Are they, as they claim, zeroing out funding for groups programs they don’t like or that they deem inefficient or unnecessary? If so, what are the criteria for funding cuts or elimination? Certainly, much government funding needs to be reviewed, and some of it eliminated. But, these decisions shouldn’t be made unilaterally by a group of twenty-somethings.

Are they putting together a database on “enemies”? How are these enemies defined and identified? What do they plan to do to these people?

Who will stop them? Trump has hallowed out law enforcement agencies like the FBI and Department of Justice, purging long-time staff, including those involved in the prosecutions of Trump.

We don’t know the answers to these and many other questions. And, that is a huge, terrifying problem.

The stopping and cutting of federal funding, programs and departments is especially an affront to Congress’ appropriations committees, which are tasked with approving all discretionary federal spending.

Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii has pledged to place a hold on all Trump State Department nominees until the president backs off shuttering USAID. This is the kind of move we typically oppose. But at a time when the lawless actions of Trump’s deputies must be slowed so Congress and Americans can find out what is really going on, it is a reasonable effort that should be expanded to other nominees.

Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin has introduced a bill that would bar “special government employees,” which is what Trump has dubbed Musk, from getting government contracts. Musk’s companies have secured more than $20 billion in government contracts.

Republicans, who hold slim majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, are unlikely to allow such efforts to move forward, but with many congressional offices flooded with calls from constituents concerned about Musk’s moves, pressure is building for action to stop him.

Less than two weeks in office, the Trump administration has set a new precedent for making dangerous, unlawful and unilateral decisions involving the safety and security of the American people, while usurping the authority of Congress.

There’s no doubt that other norms and rights will be violated in the next four years if lawmakers don’t step up now to stop these unlawful actions.

— The Bangor Daily News