My cat Myrtle never had to worry too much about things like… money. Elon Musk, however, can’t seem to catch a break and his $56 billion (yes, with a “b”) pay package didn’t fly. Attorney Brian Levy seems to have trouble taking the new Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) to be headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy seriously. Find out why in his latest Mortgage Musings which you can also get delivered to your email box for free by subscribing here. Elon Musk’s name may be intertwined with that of the nominee for Secretary of Treasury (who will work closely with whoever heads up the FHFA, especially if Freddie and Fannie are, once again, sent down the path toward being released from conservatorship). Love Musk or hate Musk, whether dominating the roads with Tesla, space with Space X, the internet with Starlink, social media with X, or the brains of humans with Nuralink, apparently, his influence will impact the U.S. Government payroll. Valuations at Elon Musk’s SpaceX and xAI have soared since the election. The billionaire rocket builder plots a huge share sale while AI start-up closes in on $5 billion funding round. But Guy S. reminded me that the total payroll of the federal government is about $110 billion a year and Federal government spending is $6.1 trillion. You cannot meaningfully shrink the federal government by firing “unelected bureaucrats.” Stay tuned! (Today’s podcast can be found here and Richey May is sponsoring this week’s. Richey May’s consulting, cybersecurity, business intelligence, and automation services are designed by mortgage experts to help you continue to drive growth and increase profitability. Hear an interview with the Institutional Risk Analyst’s Chris Whalen on competition for a (potentially) private Fannie and Freddie, when the Fed will be forced to restart quantitative easing (QE), the yield curve under President Trump, and the latest on capital requirements.)