#doge
10 entries with this tag
DOGE Officially Ended on July 4 — It Promised $2 Trillion in Savings but Left an $11 Billion Hole from Paying Workers Not to Work, Federal Spending Hit a Post-COVID High, the Deficit Grew to $1.17 Trillion, Agencies Are Now Scrambling to Rehire, and Musk Says He Would "Not Do It Again"
The Department of Government Efficiency officially expired on July 4, 2026, as prescribed by the executive order that created it. It leaves behind a government that is spending more, not less — and scrambling to rehire the people it fired. Elon Musk promised $2 trillion in savings. DOGE claimed $215 billion. Independent analysis found actual savings of roughly $1.4 billion in verifiable contract cuts, while the "Fork in the Road" deferred resignation program alone cost taxpayers an estimated $11 billion — paying nearly 140,000 workers to do nothing for months before resigning. Federal spending rose to a post-COVID high: up $83.9 billion (2.3%) in the first half of FY2026, reaching $3.6 trillion — the highest level since pandemic-era outlays. The deficit grew to $1.17 trillion for the half-year, second-largest since 2021. DOGE staffer Nate Cavanaugh testified under oath that DOGE "did not reduce the federal deficit." More than 260,000 federal employees left government. Courts ordered reinstatements at 18 agencies covering 24,000+ workers. Now agencies are hiring again at a furious pace: USAJobs posted 104,000 positions in the first five months of 2026, up from 68,900 in the last five months of 2025. The IRS lost 31% of its auditors and got fast-track authority to hire 8,000. HHS laid off 10,000, RFK Jr. admitted 20% were mistakes, and is now hiring 12,000. The VA lost 40,000 employees — 88% from healthcare, including 1,000 physicians and 3,000 nurses — and veteran mental health wait times hit 134 days at one California clinic. The Pentagon shed 78,000 employees and launched "War Force" to hire them back. The National Weather Service lost 880 employees including the warning coordination meteorologist whose absence was felt during deadly Texas floods. The State Department fired hundreds of career diplomats and is now training replacements. The FAA cut probationary employees, hired them back, then launched a "supercharge" program. The NEH lost two-thirds of its staff and is now emailing former employees asking them to reapply. OPM Director Scott Kupor, asked if there is still a goal to cut the workforce: "I'm not hearing that." OMB Director Russell Vought: "We have no plans to do kind of a closing DOGE report." Musk, in a December 2025 interview: DOGE was "somewhat successful" and he would "not do it again." The Yale Budget Lab estimated IRS cuts alone will cost $8.5 billion in lost revenue in 2026 and up to $860 billion over a decade. The Center for American Progress put the ten-year revenue loss near $1 trillion. Musk's efficiency project did not make the government more efficient. It made it more expensive, more understaffed, less capable, and now more desperate to undo what it did.
Longest TSA Wait Times in History: 4.5 Hours, Officers Selling Plasma
TSA wait times hit 4.5 hours — the worst in the agency's 24-year history. Officers working without pay for 5+ weeks are sleeping in cars and selling plasma. 480+ have quit. Callout rates hit 50% at some airports. World Cup screeners won't be ready.
DOGE Staffer Admits Under Oath: "No, We Didn't" Reduce the Deficit
In a viral deposition, a DOGE employee was asked "Did you reduce the federal deficit?" and replied "No, we didn't." The original $2T goal fell to $200B, then nothing. The chaos cost taxpayers an estimated $135 billion.
Iran War Costs Exceed All DOGE Savings in Two Weeks
At $11 billion per week, the Iran war cost $11.6B in its first days — exceeding the entire $9.4B in DOGE spending cuts passed by Congress. The Pentagon requested $200B in supplemental war funding. GOP lacked votes to fund it.
Social Security Gutted: 3-Hour Wait Times, Offices Closed
SSA lost 6,645 workers (11% of staff), phone wait times exceeded 3 hours, and 47 field offices were targeted for closure. Pending retirement claims nearly doubled to 600,000. Disability processing times hit 8 months.
DOGE Used ChatGPT to Cancel $100M in Federal Grants
DOGE staffers "in their 20s" used ChatGPT to scan humanities grants for DEI content — the AI flagged an HVAC replacement as DEI. Within 22 days, $100 million in grants were cancelled and 65% of NEH staff were terminated.
DOGE Breached Treasury, SSA, and NLRB Data Systems
DOGE operatives gained access to Treasury payment systems, Social Security records of 300 million Americans, and labor board case data. A whistleblower reported login attempts from a Russian IP using DOGE credentials.
DOGE Mass Firings and Federal Worker Chaos
Trump empowered Elon Musk's "DOGE" to slash the federal workforce, firing ~25,000 workers in weeks — including nuclear bomb specialists and bird flu responders who had to be immediately rehired. Courts ordered mass reinstatements.
Musk's $15.4 Billion Conflict of Interest Running DOGE
Elon Musk's companies hold $15.4 billion in government contracts while he runs DOGE, targeting 70%+ of agencies where he has contracts. He filed no ethics forms. Trump said Musk would identify his own conflicts — the fox guarding the henhouse.
Schedule F: Stripping Job Protections from 50,000 Federal Workers
Trump reinstated Schedule F, reclassifying 50,000 federal employees as at-will workers who can be fired for political reasons. Combined with DOGE cuts, 317,000 federal employees left government by end of 2025.