Editor, Gazette-Journal:

There are so many appalling, terrifying upheavals in this administration that it’s hard to know where to begin. Elon Musk’s takeover of the U.S. Treasury’s Payment system ranks high up there. No one elected Musk, he doesn’t have security clearance and yet he now has access to this payment system that handles approximately $6 trillion annually. Congress legally controls the purse strings and yet Musk seems to single-handedly be deciding what payments will be made.

Musk wants to stop all payments to USAID which is an indispensable arm of U.S. foreign policy. If we stop sending this aid, China will more than happily fill the void, increasing their influence worldwide while decreasing ours. USAID helps to stabilize disaster areas, due to war, famine and/or disease which in turn helps stop terrorists from gaining foothold and from deadly viruses from spreading. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure but the Trump administration is too short-sighted to see this.

Trump has slapped huge tariffs [now postponed-ed.] on our closest allies, Canada and Mexico, tearing up a trade agreement that he negotiated in his first term. This will undoubtedly raise prices on everything from groceries to vehicles, it will likely lead to a slowdown in economic growth and will keep interest rates from coming down anytime soon. We are making enemies of our closest allies. How does this make America great?

Charlotte Hollings
Lancaster, Va.