"100 days of Dogecoin: abundant turmoil, lackluster productivity"
Pulling the Plug on Washington: Musk's Crusade for Efficiency
WASHINGTON - A seismic shift is underway at the Social Security Administration as experts from various fields descend upon the Baltimore headquarters, only to be dispatched to regional offices, replacing the veteran claims processors who've bid adieu to the Trump administration. But these imported brainiacs are clueless about the job, lengthening the agonizing wait for disabled and elderly Americans who depend on these benefits, two insiders reveal. When queried about the changes, an SSA official offered a bald-faced lie: reassigned employees "hold vast wisdom about our programs and services." At the Internal Revenue Service, internet sluggishness has turned the office into a digital warzone since President Trump commandeered remote workers to gall now-cramped offices. Staffers are resorting to personal hotspots at tax season's peak, obliterating their laptops, according to two IRS insiders who remain unnamed. The IRS did not even deign to respond to our plea for comment.
Of late, we find a whopping 20 instances where staffing and funding slashes courtesy of Trump and Musk's efficiency mission have resulted in purchasing bottlenecks, inflated costs, a brain drain of scientific and technological talent, and longer public wait times. Jessica Riedl, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a think tank that champion's government streamlining, estimates that DOGE has thus far only saved $5 billion, with projections of it costing even more in the long run. The examples - hitherto unreported - span 14 government agencies and bring to light the trail of destruction left in DOGE's relentless pursuit of government efficiency.
When questioned about the impact of DOGE's budgetary carnage on government efficiency, White House spokesman Harrison Fields remained evasive, parroting the mantra that Musk's team "has modernized government technology, prevented fraud, streamlined processes, and identified billions of dollars in savings for American taxpayers." However, Fields was noticeably short on providing concrete examples of upgraded systems or workforce enhancements.
Saving billions, Musk retreats after a 130-day stint leading DOGE. His leave of absence comes as his mandate as a special government employee winds down at the end of May. Musk hinted that he will continue to help Trump revolutionize the federal bureaucracy, though not full-time. The uncertainties surrounding DOGE's future persist, but experts expect the cost-cutting to endure.
Musk and his cronies have offered little tangible evidence to prove the government operates more efficiently as a result of the mass layoffs and discontinued government contracts. In a secretive fashion, DOGE's teams have wormed their way into a panoply of government agencies and their systems, leaving chaos in their wake. A DOGE website boasting regular updates on claimed savings – $160 billion to date – is riddled with errors and corrections.
The White House was kind enough to share examples of cost savings, which, as it turns out, have been met with skepticism. More than $630 million in fraudulent loans made by the Small Business Administration to applicants over the age of 115 and under the age of 11 in 2020-2021, $382 million in fraudulent unemployment payments by the Labor Department since 2020, and a $18 million trimming of leasing costs at the Environmental Protection Agency by shifting staff out of a building in Washington are among the examples put forth by the White House. Unfortunately, we were unable to independently verify these claims.
DOGE did not respond to our requests for comment. When chatting with Fox News' Bret Baier, Musk said his team is painstakingly cautious about making cuts, corrects errors promptly, and has uncovered astonishing levels of waste and fraud.
In its quest to save a buck, DOGE has axed nearly 500,000 government credit cards, imposed a $1 spending limit on others, and centralized decision-making in agency headquarters. This leaves managers in regional offices helpless when it comes to procuring essential supplies. A scientist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health experienced a month-long delay when seeking authorization to purchase $200 of dry ice to preserve urine samples - a simple errand that can usually be accomplished at the local grocery store. Given the current restrictions, a colleague had to cough up $100 for the shipping costs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which oversees NIOSH, did not respond to our request for comment.
DOGE and the White House have also proscribed many agencies from communicating with outside vendors, halting thousands of federal contracts. One casualty of this ban: a nearly half-a-million dollar chemical analysis instrument at a CDC facility in Cincinnati has sat idle for months because scientists can't schedule training with the vendor. The CDC did not respond to our query.
At the Social Security Administration, computer systems have crashed a staggering ten times during a four-day span in early March. With 25% of the agency's IT staff having either been fired or resigned, restoration of the systems takes longer, disrupting the claim processing mechanism. Musk told Baier that the agency's computer systems are "failing," and "we're fixing it."
The humanitarian aid sector has borne the brunt of DOGE's efficiency mission, with recipients of foreign aid feeling the pinch. Since DOGE's inception, the U.S. Agency for International Development, which extends aid to the world's destitute, has shuttered over 80% of its humanitarian programs. The remaining workforce is scheduled to be eliminated by September, with overseas offices shuttered, some functions to be transitioned to the State Department.
The government overhaul has led to the exit of 260,000 civil servants since Trump assumed office. Over 20,000 probationary employees were let go last February. After court rulings, they were reinstated but eventually sent home on full pay. Most are now being pink-slipped again after further court decisions. Trump and Musk insist the U.S. government is awash in fraud and waste, yet many veteran civil servants and governance experts argue that there are already individuals within the bureaucracy working diligently to save taxpayer dollars. Regrettably, some of these offices have been targeted for elimination by DOGE.
In the spirit of efficiency, Trump fired 17 inspector generals, whose watchdog role includes reducing waste and fraud. Christi Grimm, who was ousted as the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general, had identified $14.5 billion in savings over three years by audits and fraud investigations. Last month, DOGE abolished one of the few government units dedicated to streamlining technology across the federal government, a 90-member team known as 18-F. Waldo Jaquith, who worked for 18F between 2016 and 2020, stated the team had saved the Pentagon $500 million in a single three-day project after discovering two departments were unwittingly undertaking the same project. We could not independently verify this figure. "18F operated just as Musk and his team claim they want government to operate," Jaquith observed, "but when they found it, they destroyed it." If you enjoyed this dose of reality, stick around for more hard-hitting news! Don't forget to share your thoughts - we're always eager to hear your feedback!
- The DOGE team, under Musk's leadership, has been criticized for creating prolonged wait times for disabled and elderly Americans at the Social Security Administration, as their efforts to increase efficiency have reportedly resulted in a brain drain of scientific and technological talent.
- In an attempt to improve the environment, the Environmental Protection Agency has seen a $18 million reduction in leasing costs due to staff shifts, but this has come at the expense of HALTED chemical analysis instruments at a CDC facility in Cincinnati.
- Musk's focus on government efficiency has led to the axing of nearly 500,000 government credit cards and a $1 spending limit on others, leaving regional office managers powerless to procure essential supplies, such as dry ice for urine samples at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
- Civil servants and governance experts argue that there are already individuals within the bureaucracy dedicating their efforts to saving taxpayer dollars, but the overhaul led by Trump and Musk has resulted in the exit of 260,000 civil servants, including 20,000 probationary employees, and the elimination of government units dedicated to streamlining technology across federal agencies.
