MSNBC’s ongoing fixation on Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has shown no signs of abating. On Monday night’s episode of The 11th Hour, a panel hosted by Stephanie Ruhle continued what seems to have become a nightly ritual of railing against Musk and DOGE, and casually alleged, without any evidence, that DOGE’s actions could cause America to default on its national debt, and touch off a global economic crisis.
Ruhle began by mentioning a statement against DOGE’s recent actions by five former Treasury secretaries, and commented that, although all five were Democrats rather than Republicans, the views they expressed, “did not sound partisan to me at all.”
Dan Nathan of CNBC agreed: “Yeah, I think they're focused on the- sanctity of our Treasury, right? And when we think about- what do they do? They’re issuing treasury bonds. That is the bedrock of the global financial system, right?”
According to Nathan, DOGE was possibly going to shut down payments to America’s lenders and cause America to default on the debt:
So, if you have- this organization, DOGE, which is just an appointed organization that really doesn't know how these operations work, and they shut down payments- it could be any sort of payments- then you have folks lose confidence in the U.S. Treasury, right? And if that happens- they default on some of these payments- they could have a downgrade by the rating agencies. And what happens is that- that could- like- literally cause global financial panic, if that were to happen.
In essence, Nathan charged that DOGE was somehow threatening to make the U.S. Treasury default on its debt, with grave worldwide consequences. He did not actually cite any evidence for this allegation, just a vague, unsubstantiated blanket assertion that the organization “doesn’t know how these operations work,” whatever that was supposed to mean.
Ruhle then turned to Heather Long of The Washington Post, and expressed incredulity that even with “everything Dan just laid out,” about “everything that's happening around DOGE- they seem- the markets are- keep on trucking.”
Long agreed, and went even further, saying that Wall Street was not taking the threat of DOGE seriously enough. “I think it's one of the biggest- questions out there- that we haven't seen- really- any panic yet from Wall Street,” she lamented. “I think what's happening is- on Wall Street- it's sort of the same with tariffs- they're really looking line by line at what is actually coming out from the administration, versus the warnings.”
She too pushed the conspiracy theory that DOGE would lead to an American dept default:
But I would say they are severely underpricing the risk of that scenario that Dan just laid out, that some 20-something-year-old who's fiddling around with the code suddenly prevents a payment from not going out. And we have a technical default by the United States government, that has long standing replications [sic]- to- going forward for this nation.”
So, now they had a purely hypothetical, purely conjectural, fairly elaborate and quite specific scenario by which DOGE supposedly could destroy the world’s economy, and were wondering why Wall Street was not cringing in terror at the possibility. There was one problem, though. They continued to offer no actual evidence for their dire predictions, and, to all appearances, made up this entire scenario on the spot, right out of thin air.
To read the transcript, click "expand":
MSNBC’s The 11th Hour
02/10/2025
11:23 PM[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: IN NYT OPED FIVE FORMER TREASURY CHIEFS SAY DOGE EFFORT UNDERMINES CONSTITUTION]
STEPHANIE RUHLE: Dan, what I just heard from Larry Summers did not sound partisan to me at all. It was a scary, stark warning, and it's a big deal to get five treasury secretaries to sign off on something together. But none were Republicans.
DAN NATHAN (CNBC CONTRIBUTOR, RISK REVERSAL CO-FOUNDER, ON THE TAPE PODCAST HOST): Yeah, I think they're focused on the- sanctity of our treasury, right? And when we think about- what do they do? They’re issuing treasury bonds. That is the bedrock of the global financial system, right?
So, if you have- this organization, DOGE, which is just an appointed organization that really doesn't know how these operations work, and they shut down payments- it could be any sort of payments- then you have folks lose confidence in the U.S. Treasury, right? And if that happens- they default on some of these payments- they could have a downgrade by the rating agencies. And what happens is that- that could-like- literally cause global financial panic, if that were to happen.
It did happen once in 2011- you remember that- Global markets, stocks, currencies, everything- they went haywire for a bit, you know? So- those are the things, I think, that- you look at those five Treasury secretaries- they remember what it's like to keep things together. That is their job, to affect- like- the president's economic policy. But it's a broader thing than just that coming from the executive branch. They really understand where the US economy sits and what are the most important pillars of that is.[sic]
RUHLE: Heather, everything Dan just laid out, everything the five Treasury secretaries did- how come the market doesn't seem to be- care? The market freaked out at the thought that Donald Trump was going to impose major tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. But this- everything that's happening around DOGE- they seem- the markets are- keep on trucking.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: TRUMP IMPOSES 25 % TARIFFS ON STEEL AND ALUMINUM]
HEATHER LONG (WASHINGTON POST ECONOMICS COLUMNIST): I agree with you. I think it's one of the biggest- questions out there- that we haven't seen- really- any panic yet from Wall Street. I think what's happening is- on Wall Street- it's sort of the same with tariffs- they're really looking line by line at what is actually coming out from the administration, versus the warnings.
But I would say they are severely underpricing the risk of that scenario that Dan just laid out, that some 20-something-year-old who's fiddling around with the code suddenly prevents a payment from not going out. And we have a technical default by the United States government, that has long standing replications [sic]- to- going forward for this nation.
(…)
