Musk's new challenge

 Timothy Noah, New Republic -  Until last week, nobody was more despised inside the Trump White House than “special government employee” Elon Musk. But after Musk’s $25 million belly flop in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election punctured his aura of invincibility, that baton passed to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Lutnick is loathed for two reasons. The first is that he defeated efforts by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and National Economic Council chair Kevin Hassett to limit the size and scope of Trump’s tariffs, which, if we’re lucky, will tip the U.S. economy into a recession. (If we’re unlucky, the tariffs will tip the global economy into a depression.) The second reason Trump officials hate Lutnick is that nobody thinks he actually believes the hooey he spouts in furtherance of a maximalist tariff policy. In an administration overflowing with sycophants, no nose is burrowed more deeply inside Trump’s gluteus maximus than Lutnick’s.

Lutnick “is constantly auditioning for Trump’s approval,” a person identified as being “close to the administration” told Politico on March 11. “He’s trying to be a mini-Trump.” According to Politico, “White House and administration officials” were “growing increasingly frustrated with Lutnick” because of his “abrasive personality” and frequent TV appearances that showed “a lack of understanding of even the basics about how tariffs and the economy work.”