By Isabella Torregiani
4:30am PDT, Jun 4, 2025
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Rachel Maddow is drawing a connection between
Elon Musk's black eye and his involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency.
During a segment on Monday, June 2, the MSNBC host addressed DOGE's takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace headquarters in Washington, D.C. — and didn't hold back when it came to her personal message for Musk.
Keep reading to find out what Maddow had to say… MORE:
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Just last month, U.S. District Judge
Beryl Howell ruled DOGE's takeover illegal, allowing USIP staff back in their offices. When members returned to the building, they reportedly found it in disarray — with water damage, broken property and infestations of rodents.
That wasn't all. According to
The Economist, cleaners also discovered marijuana that appeared to have been discarded by DOGE staffers.
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Rachel Maddow didn't mince words when reacting to the state of the building — and Elon Musk's overall connection to the chaos.
"So, maximum destruction, leaving everything soiled and in disrepair and littered with drugs," she said on
The Rachel Maddow Show.
"And now, because all of that was totally illegal, the folks at the U.S. Institute of Peace will have to repair everything and stand it all back up just to get back to where they were before this whole thing started."
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Rachel Maddow's latest remarks come days after Elon Musk arrived at the White House with a visible black eye. Musk completed his final day as a "special government employee" under the Trump administration, on Friday, May 30.
The host had her own take on the bruise, explaining, "Yes, the black eye was cute, but may I suggest that this is perhaps more on the nose as the legacy of what the Trump administration has done through Trump's top campaign donor, Elon Musk, as Elon Musk leaves Washington."
"A building seized pointlessly. Shut down pointlessly. Left to be infested by vermin. All so its rightful owners can eventually come back and have to put it all back together again — for no reason at all. I think that's a better metaphor."
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While in office, Elon Musk vowed to cut $2 trillion from federal spending, but he ultimately fell short of that goal. DOGE claims savings of $175 billion, though this estimate is disputed because only part of the amount was reportedly itemized and verifiable.
Musk has since left his government role to concentrate on Tesla, SpaceX and his other business ventures.
