There could also be some extortion involved here. "Hi, I'm from the Trump administration. We are raising money for his inauguration party. If you don't want to be embroiled in 4 years of legal battles, or have Musk buy you, you should contribute." ... " Uh, sure. Here's a million bucks. "
I've seen several very sympathetic posts on LinkedIn, including one that called him out as a hero and role model for coming from a small town and rising to the top of US society.
In my experience, most bureaucrats want to help you. Yes, there are bureaucrats who just love the process or those who somehow bend the process for there own self interest. However most get into that line of work because they actually care about their cause and want to do right. BE NICE even when it seems pointless and ridiculous. It is amazing how much help you can get if you don't approach it with a huge ego.
I was thinking they are going to have to hire bathroom guards at every bathroom to check your gender before you enter. I'm not sure how they'll check your gender before you enter. They would have to be immune to bribes, so they'd have to be paid well too.
I think it will have impact a lot sooner than 20 years. As soon as no one can trace the next listeria or salmonella outbreak, or evenrecognize there is a flu epidemic happening, or whatever. There will be kids dieing from bad ice cream before summer is over.
Sending US arms to Ukraine is less about Ukraine than it is giving money to the US arms manufacturers. I'm sure those influential military industrial complex fat cats will find ways to keep the cash flowing - even if they have funnel it through someone else.
Yes, in some jurisdictions this is common.