The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Trump administration initiative, was intended to reduce government waste, fraud, and abuse but ultimately failed to achieve these savings. Instead, DOGE is reported to have permanently damaged public services by eliminating approximately 300,000 federal workers. An analysis found no actual savings from DOGE, with claimed reductions often stemming from the salaries of these terminated employees. This initiative is characterized as a “miserable failure” that has led to a loss of institutional knowledge and difficulty in recruiting and retaining federal talent.
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The New World screwworm fly, a flesh-eating parasite, has been confirmed in south Texas, marking its first appearance in decades and raising concerns for the nation’s cattle industry. Officials are investigating whether recent cuts to the United States Agency for International Development, specifically to a program aimed at preventing parasite spread across the U.S.-Mexico border, may have contributed to this potential crisis. The parasite’s larvae burrow into warm-blooded animals, and untreated infections can be fatal within days, a situation ranchers in southern Mexico have been battling since last year. The USDA estimates that even an isolated outbreak could result in significant economic losses for Texas.
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A judge has ruled that Elon Musk must face a lawsuit alleging he unlawfully seized excessive power as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The plaintiffs claim Musk overstepped his authority by taking drastic actions like eliminating agencies and implementing mass firings without Senate confirmation, actions they argue went beyond the scope of President Trump’s executive orders. The court rejected the government’s defense that Musk held no formal office, stating that the alleged unlawful creation of an office and seizure of power only strengthens the need for scrutiny under the Appointments Clause, as evading checks and balances is not permissible.
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It’s truly astonishing to hear that two staffers involved with DOGE, when questioned under oath, expressed no regrets for individuals losing their livelihoods and, furthermore, admitted that their actions did not in fact reduce the federal deficit. These depositions paint a rather stark picture of the mindset of some individuals in positions of influence. The assertion of no regrets, particularly when faced with the tangible consequence of people losing income, speaks volumes about a potential disconnect from the human impact of policy decisions.
The claim that the deficit was not reduced, despite the stated intentions or justifications for their actions, raises significant questions about the efficacy and purpose of the DOGE initiative.… Continue reading
A judge has ordered the immediate removal of deposition clips from members of DOGE that had previously been uploaded by the Modern Language Association. These depositions, including one where a member struggled to define DEI, gained significant viral attention. The Modern Language Association, along with the American Council of Learned Societies and the American Historical Association, are currently suing the National Endowment for the Humanities and others regarding substantial grant cuts made by DOGE.
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During a lengthy deposition, former investment banker Justin Fox, now associated with DOGE, struggled to define DEI. He admitted to using ChatGPT to scan government contracts for specific demographic terms, excluding others. Fox also made and then retracted a claim that a grant he helped cut was “not for the benefit of humankind.” These exchanges offer a glimpse into the operational methods of DOGE, an organization linked to significant damage and negative consequences despite failing to reduce the government deficit.
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Following a lawsuit filed against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), revelations have emerged regarding the termination of over 1,400 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grants. DOGE staffers, lacking academic expertise in the humanities, employed ChatGPT to identify grants that could be retroactively canceled based on perceived “DEI” initiatives, ultimately cutting over $100 million in funding and dismissing 65% of NEH staff. This process, which targeted terms such as “BIPOC” and “LGBTQ,” allegedly violated the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection clause. Grants for diverse projects, including a documentary on Jewish women’s slave labor and efforts to preserve Native American languages, were among those eliminated, with even routine maintenance grants being rescinded.
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A former software engineer from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has been accused of stealing personal data of hundreds of millions of Americans from the Social Security Administration, including Social Security numbers and birth dates, and storing it on a thumb drive. This alleged theft occurred after the engineer left the SSA for a government contractor, where he reportedly bragged about possessing two restricted databases, “Numident” and the “Master Death File.” The Social Security Administration spokesperson denied the allegations, calling the report “fake news,” while the SSA’s inspector general is reportedly investigating the whistleblower complaint, marking the latest in a series of concerns surrounding DOGE’s involvement with the agency’s sensitive data.
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The Trump administration has admitted in a court filing that the “department of government efficiency” (Doge) improperly shared Americans’ social security data. The filing reveals a secret data-sharing agreement between a Doge member and a political advocacy group, and unauthorized use of a third-party server, Cloudflare. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is investigating potential Hatch Act violations due to political activity. The court filing details Doge’s access to sensitive systems and data despite a temporary restraining order, and the agency was unable to determine what data was transmitted.
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A recent court filing reveals that two staff members within Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team, operating within the Social Security Administration, were in contact with a right-wing advocacy group. The Justice Department indicates that one DOGE staffer signed a “voter data agreement” with the group, potentially involving access to Americans’ Social Security information to investigate voter registration data. The advocacy group’s goal was to find evidence of voter fraud and overturn election results in certain states. This revelation follows a case accusing DOGE of illegally accessing sensitive information for politically motivated claims, with the staffers now referred to the Justice Department for potential Hatch Act violations.
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John Q. Hosedrinker 
Matt Underwood