Elon Musk could also be gone from the Trump administration — and his friendship standing with President Donald Trump could also be at greatest unsure — however his whirlwind stint in authorities definitely left its imprint.
The Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE), his pet government-slashing challenge, stays entrenched in Washington. Throughout his 130-day tenure, Musk led DOGE in eliminating about 260,000 federal worker jobs and gutting businesses supporting scientific analysis and humanitarian help.
However up to now, DOGE claims to have saved the federal government $180 billion — effectively in need of its formidable (and albeit by no means real looking) goal of reducing at least $2 trillion from the federal funds. And with Musk’s departure nonetheless contemporary, there are experiences that the federal authorities is making an attempt to rehire federal employees who give up or have been let go.
For Elaine Kamarck, senior fellow on the Brookings Establishment, DOGE’s ways will possible find yourself being disastrous in the long term. “DOGE got here in with these big cuts, which weren’t connected to a plan,” she advised Right now, Defined co-host Sean Rameswaram.
Kamarck is aware of all about making authorities extra environment friendly. Within the Nineties, she ran the Clinton administration’s Reinventing Authorities program. “I used to be Elon Musk,” she advised Right now, Defined. With the advantage of that have, she assesses Musk’s file at DOGE, and what, if something, the billionaire’s loud efforts at reducing authorities spending added as much as.
Under is an excerpt of the dialog, edited for size and readability. There’s far more within the full podcast, so hearken to Right now, Defined wherever you get podcasts, together with Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Spotify.
What do you assume Elon Musk’s legacy is?
Effectively, he is not going to have completely, radically reshaped the federal authorities. Completely not. In truth, there’s a excessive chance that on January 20, 2029, when the subsequent president takes over, the federal authorities is about the identical dimension as it’s now, and might be doing the identical stuff that it’s doing now. What he did handle to do was insert chaos, worry, and loathing into the federal workforce.
There was reporting within the Washington Submit late final week that these cuts have been so ineffective that the White Home is definitely reaching out to numerous federal workers who have been laid off and asking them to come back again, from the FDA to the IRS to even USAID. Which cuts are sticking at this level and which of them aren’t?
To start with, in a number of circumstances, individuals went to courtroom and the courts have reversed these earlier selections. So the very first thing that occurred is, courts mentioned, “No, no, no, you may’t do it this manner. You must carry them again.”
The second factor that occurred is that Cupboard officers began to get confirmed by the Senate. And keep in mind that a number of probably the most spectacular DOGE stuff was taking place in February. In February, these Cupboard secretaries have been making ready for his or her Senate hearings. They weren’t on the job. Now that their Cupboard secretary’s house, what’s taking place is that they’re these cuts they usually’re saying, “No, no, no! We will’t dwell with these cuts as a result of we now have a mission to do.”
As the federal government tries to rent again the individuals they fired, they’re going to have a troublesome time, they usually’re going to have a troublesome time for 2 causes. To start with, they handled them like filth, they usually’ve mentioned a number of insulting issues.
Second, most people who work for the federal authorities are extremely expert. They’re not paper pushers. We’ve computer systems to push our paper, proper? They’re scientists. They’re engineers. They’re individuals with excessive expertise, and guess what? They will get jobs outdoors the federal government. So there’s going to be actual lasting injury to the federal government from the way in which they did this. And it’s analogous to the lasting injury that they’re inflicting at universities, the place we now have prime scientists who used to invent nice cures for most cancers and issues like that, deciding to go discover jobs in Europe as a result of this tradition has gotten so unhealthy.
What occurs to this company now? Who’s accountable for it?
Effectively, what they’ve finished is DOGE workers have been embedded in every of the organizations within the authorities, okay? And so they mainly — and the president himself has mentioned this — they mainly report back to the Cupboard secretaries. So in case you are within the Transportation Division, it’s a must to guarantee that Sean Duffy, who’s the secretary of transportation, agrees with you on what you wish to do. And Sean Duffy has already had a combat throughout a Cupboard assembly with Elon Musk. You understand that he has not been thrilled with the recommendation he’s gotten from DOGE. So any further, DOGE goes to should work hand in hand with Donald Trump’s appointed leaders.
And simply to carry this round to what we’re right here speaking about now, they’re on this big combat over wasteful spending with the so-called large, stunning invoice. Does this simply appear like the federal government as typical, in the end?
It’s really worse than regular. As a result of the deficit impacts are greater than regular. It’s including extra to the deficit than earlier payments have finished.
And the second motive it’s worse than regular is that everyone continues to be dwelling in a fantasy world. And the fantasy world says that someway we will take care of our deficits by reducing waste, fraud, and abuse. That’s pure nonsense. Let me say it: pure nonsense.
The place does many of the authorities cash go? Does it go to some bureaucrats sitting on Pennsylvania Avenue? It goes to us. It goes to your grandmother and her Social Safety and her Medicare. It goes to veterans in veterans advantages. It goes to Individuals. That’s why it’s so onerous to chop it. It’s so onerous to chop it as a result of it’s us.
And persons are dwelling on it. Now, there’s a complete different subject that no person talks about, and it’s referred to as entitlement reform, proper? Might we reform Social Safety? Might we make the retirement age go from 67 to 68? That might save some huge cash. Might we modify the price of dwelling? No one, no person, no person is speaking about that. And that’s as a result of we’re on this loopy, polarized setting the place we will not have severe conversations about severe points.
