Elon Musk’s move-fast-and-break-things ethos has served him well so far in his efforts to demolish the federal bureaucracy. But now comes the moment the billionaire leading President Donald Trump’s DOGE initiative may not be prepared for — managing the politics of his sprawling cuts.

Last week, between posting photos of himself and slashing the federal bureaucracy, Elon Musk found the time to make some penis jokes. The world’s richest man briefly changed his display name on X to “Harry Bōlz,

Some civil servants are using whatever levers they have to resist the orders of the world’s richest man, both in public and behind closed doors.