How Trump Is Selling Out America to Elon Musk

Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams

Crooked Media

Society & Culture

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 13 February 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A league of unextraordinary gentlemen has taken over the White House. This week, Stacey breaks down how Donald Trump has allowed Elon Musk and his squad of young DOGE staffers to have unprecedented access to the federal government. Wired editor Leah Feiger joins Stacey to explain how she and her team of reporters uncovered how DOGE infiltrated the Treasury department, the potential security and privacy implications, and how AI fits into the equation. Then, Stacey sits down with University of Pennsylvania law professor and Strict Scrutiny co-host Kate Shaw to tackle the question on everyone’s mind: how is any of this legal? Also, be sure to listen for a special message from Stacey on how to manage our response to crisis—so we can stay informed, cut through disinformation, and fight back. We want to hear your questions. Send us an email at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 213-293-9509. You and your question might be featured on the show. Learn & Do More: To stay informed about everything that’s going on with Doge, Musk, and Trump’s billionaire bandits, make sure to follow the reporting from Leah and her incredible team at Wired, as well as the other news sites she shouted out like 404 Media, Teen Vogue, and Rolling Stone. If you want to continue to learn about the questionable legality of the Trump administration’s actions, listen to Strict Scrutiny, co-hosted by our amazing guest Kate Shaw. A critical way to use your voice is to uplift stories like the ones we covered so they don’t get drowned out in the intentional chaos. If this resonated with you, tell someone—a friend, relative, colleague—even post it to your socials. Don’t let stories like this fade. Support organizations like Democracy Forward, State Democracy Defenders, and The Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection that are filing lawsuits to challenge Musk's unprecedented government takeover.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Assembly required with Stacey Abrams is brought to you by bookshop.org. As the daughter of a librarian,
0:06.9	I grew up loving books. So between libraries and local bookstores, I'm always in my happy place.
0:13.5	But I don't always have time to browse in person. That's why I turn to bookshop.org. When you
0:20.7	purchase from bookshop.org, you're supporting more than 2,000 local independent
0:25.8	bookstores across the country, ensuring they'll continue to foster culture, curiosity, and
0:31.5	a love of reading for generations to come.
0:34.4	And we have some big news.
0:36.7	Bookshop.org has launched an e-book app. You can now support
0:40.6	local independent bookstores even when you read digitally. This week, I'm downloading their new app and
0:46.4	giving it a try. My two read lists will expand with James by Percival Everett and The Secret Lives
0:53.9	of Numbers, a global history of mathematics and its unsung
0:57.1	Trailblazers by Kate Kittagawa and Timothy Ravelle. Check out the new e-book app and support local
1:04.5	independent bookstores today. Use code Stacey to get 10% off your next order at bookshop.org.
1:11.4	That's code Stacey, S-T-A-C-E-Y at bookshop.org.
1:24.9	Welcome to Assembly Required.
1:26.7	I'm your host, Stacey Abrams.
1:29.0	This week we'll be talking about kleptocracy, corruption, and the potential impacts of letting Elon Musk and his Doge squad run wild through our government.
1:41.1	But today, I want to start the show with something different.
1:45.4	To take a minute,
1:53.1	to highlight an issue that's on my mind. We spent a lot of time in the last few weeks talking about the chaos theory and the flood of information that we are being hit with. And I
1:59.5	want to take a second and talk about how we should
2:01.8	process what we're hearing. Amanda Ripley is the author of a book called The Unthinkable,
	...

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