Democracy defeated Musk -- but not before many died

Elon Musk is leaving Washington this week. Bye, Ketamine Felicia!

What does his departure tell us?

One thing is that, in some very important ways, democracy is still working, Anand told the “Morning Joe” crew earlier today. But the human damage Musk has done far outweighs any economic damage #Teslatakedown has done to his personal wealth. How much? Boston University health economist Brooke Nichols has crunched the numbers, and they’re sobering: as of this writing, DOGE cuts have led to 300,000 deaths — five times the death toll of U.S. service members in the Vietnam War.

DOGE teams remain in place, so it’s not yet time to relax. But as Anand said today:

The courts work still, not perfectly, there's problems, but courts work, lawsuits work, and pressure works, and people raising their voice works. And it's not just that Washington always wins. I think the people always win.

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