Credit: Bart van Leeuwen / CTNewsJunkie via Cagle Cartoons / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
BARTH KECKLet’s face it: The actions of the federal government’s nascent “efficiency” agency have not been what one might call “efficient.” Swift, perhaps, and definitely cruel. But hardly efficient.
On Feb. 13, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) fired nearly 2,000 Department of Energy (DOE) employees, including 325 individuals from the National Nuclear Security Administration who “manage the U.S. nuclear fleet and work to secure radiological materials around the world.” Just one day later, the DOGE geniuses realized we might want to have those people around a bit longer – nuclear waste and all that – so they decided to reinstate them. Problem was, DOGE couldn’t notify the fired employees to hire them back:
“Evidently, when the Trump administration carelessly fired these employees, they were no longer able to access their DOE email accounts, and the National Nuclear Security Administration didn’t have their personal email accounts on file.”
DOGE has also demonstrated a troubling lack of proficiency in math, or spelling, or both.
“The largest contract DOGE initially said it had cut was an $8 billion dollar agreement for ‘Equal Employment Opportunity’ services,” reported ABC News, “but the amount of the contract, as listed on the DOGE website, was revised on Wednesday from $8 billion down to $8 million.”
What’s an extra zero or a different letter when you’re trying to justify your haphazard, slash-and-burn “efficiency” techniques?
This incredible farce would be amusing if it didn’t involve so many individuals losing their jobs – or the safety of literally the entire world (nuclear waste again). As it is, this is just one example of DOGE’s supreme recklessness since coming into existence just last month.
Surely you’ve heard countless stories of federal employees losing their jobs in unceremonious fashion (to put it mildly). The story that struck a chord with me came from a former student who’d worked at the state level for 20 years before transitioning to the federal U.S. Forest Service. He shared his experience on Facebook:
“My role with the U.S. Forest Service was focused on helping rural landowners keep their forests healthy, economically sustainable, ecologically productive, and preserved. Just 12 days before the end of my probation period, I was fired without cause, notice, or dignity.”
The post continued, “My story mirrors so many others today: disabled veterans, active-duty families, young graduates with hope in their hearts, dedicated field crews, cancer researchers. These are your neighbors, many of whom worked quietly behind the scenes with pride and passion for our country. They don’t deserve this.”
Connecticut is relatively fortunate compared to other states, employing about 8,000 federal employees – just 0.43% of the state’s total workforce. Still, we’re talking about living and breathing human beings with families, mortgages, and grocery bills who now go to work worrying if it’s their last day. Some have already lost their jobs, according to a family friend, leaving an aura of utter despair in the workplace.
DOGE’s “efficiency” is hurting Connecticut in additional ways. As Congressman Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, told NBC Connecticut’s Mike Hydek, federal funding for charitable organizations like the United Way and research centers like the University of Connecticut now face an uncertain future with potential cuts.
To be honest, financial inefficiency and corruption at the federal level are not new problems. I remember the “Golden Fleece Award,” created by Wisconsin Senator Willam Proxmire way back in 1975 to highlight wasteful government spending. The problem has existed since the beginning of the republic, only to get worse as the years have gone by. (See the 2010 SCOTUS decision Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission to learn how the situation was put on steroids.)
However, taking a machete to federal agencies with no foresight, no plan, no rhyme, no reason is not the way to solve the problem. In fact, it’s the opposite of “efficient.”
I could get into some of the other extremely problematic elements of DOGE, such as how it is seeking access to the IRS and Social Security records of millions of Americans or how it has employed unvetted “tech bros” to review such data. But we can keep it simple and recognize that DOGE’s actions so far have been exceedingly stupid and excruciatingly cruel.
“What is happening to federal agencies and people right now is not just shameful and reckless; it is illegal,” wrote my former student who no longer works for the U.S. Forest Service. “The consequences of these actions will undoubtedly have a profound, lasting, and negative impact on all of us.”
All thanks to DOGE, the antithesis of government efficiency.