Arguably the biggest kerfuffle in America today is over President Trump’s determination to cut the fraud, waste, and abuse out of the federal government. His establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk, is moving at rocket speed in attacking spending that is wasting taxpayer dollars. Let’s take a look at how this mysterious mechanism works and why the Democrats are so radically opposed to it.
On his first day in office, the president signed an executive order creating DOGE to “maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.” He announced it would be headed by Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy later resigned to run for governor of Ohio. Trump said the agency would help “dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies. Musk, in his typical flamboyant style, claimed he would cut $2 trillion from the federal budget. The current federal budget is $6.8 trillion. So, can DOGE really expect to cut the budget by almost 30%? Probably not, but I am very pleased to see the Administration launch a “shock and awe” attack on every agency in Washington that spends my money.
So, how does DOGE work? Musk, in addition to being a genius, is a phenomenal organizer for problem solving. He has created several teams made up of the smartest people in the country. Each team is small, usually comprising a team leader, an engineer, a human resources specialist, and an attorney. The teams are going into federal government department offices looking for how employees are structured, how technology is being used, how funds are being spent, and compliance with the president’s strategy. There will eventually be one DOGE team for each government department and agency. The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability has a subcommittee called the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (also DOGE) which takes recommendations from Musk and his staff and considers them for legislative action as necessary. Musk and DOGE have no authority to change or terminate anything, although the Dems are screaming like Chicken Little that the teams are defunding and firing the federal government into ruins.
All Trump has assigned DOGE to do is to look deeply into all aspects of government and shine a light on frivilous spending, bloated manpower, and any other hinderances to efficiency. They are just to illuminate the darkness. With the obvious corruption and sluggishness in Washington, Musk would find his job easy and rewarding if it weren’t for the firewalls the bureaucracies have built to protect their turf. From security over-classification to privacy laws to employment safeguards, the DOGE teams are being pushed back at every turn. Plus, liberal federal judges are throwing the penalty flag at almost every move toward doing more with less.
Democrats and career government officials (essentially redundant terms) make up most of the Washington establishment, or “swamp.” Altough many of them are dedicated servants of the people, many serve themselves by orchestrating schemes of exchanges of favors, kickbacks, and political advantages. Some are simply incompetent. Meticulous scrutiny of their jobs would not bode well for their future. So, they fight DOGE like a wild predator backed into a corner.
Liberals are decrying that Musk is an unelected person with no authority or accountability who is acting counter to the Constitution in his inspection of government operations. Actually, his constitutional authority lies in being rightly appointed by the elected president who has a mandate from the voters to do his assigned duties. The bureaucrats who are giving him the most flack are also unelected.
What President Trump is doing through Elon Musk and DOGE is exhilerating to me and most other conservatives. I have never seen such a war on big government, overspending, and Washington corruption in my lifetime. It is long overdue. I can accept an occasional misstep or constitutional infringement in this effort. That is to be expected with this level of tactical assault on colossal mismanagement. Any war has some setbacks. But as long as it is one step back and 100 steps forward, we are assured of victory. So, stand up a cheer, America! The tax payments we file this year will perhaps be less wasted than ever before.
Because of this I can stand to watch the news once again. Go Trump, Musk & DOGE !!
Thank you for this well needed information.
I think it is great, I like seeing the justice and the exposure of the evil that has been done to the people in our country here on earth. Correct me if my thinking is wrong, but it also seems that it is a big distraction? Prosperity? “Golden age”? Huge reparations coming? Lots of deception. Because as it seems, the beast system WILL use AI and at least a half a trillion has been invested and I’m sure much more will be used to further and facilitate its growth, and at a certain time, if not now, cannot be slowed down and can and will take over. Those that are running DOGE are probably not even knowing what they are doing by facilitating the construction of the “system”. Now, those men are being used by God to do it, no doubt. I just pray that those deceived will not stay that way. AND, if the Lord doesn’t want them deceived….well, you see where I’m going with that. Its just hard to see people looking to “earthly justice” to solve things. Musk? Well, I can’t think of a more trans-humanist technocrat than him or the people at his side, Thiel, Vivek and several others. Great article! Trying to keep perspective for my own weak flesh and maybe someone else. Thanks Terry!