President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to slash the federal workforce and stop the waste. He also told agencies to comply with DOGE.
The order states:
(c) Reductions in Force. Agency Heads shall promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force (RIFs), consistent with applicable law, and to separate from Federal service temporary employees and reemployed annuitants working in areas that will likely be subject to the RIFs. All offices that perform functions not mandated by statute or other law shall be prioritized in the RIFs, including all agency diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; all agency initiatives, components, or operations that my Administration suspends or closes; and all components and employees performing functions not mandated by statute or other law who are not typically designated as essential during a lapse in appropriations as provided in the Agency Contingency Plans on the Office of Management and Budget [OMB] website. This subsection shall not apply to functions related to public safety, immigration enforcement, or law enforcement.
The OMB has to hand over a plan detailing how it plans to reduce the workforce “through efficiency improvements and attrition.” The plan must “require that each agency hire no more than one employee for every four employees that depart, consistent with the plan and any applicable exemptions and details provided for in the Plan.”
The EO says that the order does not affect the IRS hiring freeze. It also does “not apply to functions related to public safety, immigration enforcement, or law enforcement.”
DOGE Chair Elon Musk attended the signing and answered more questions from the media than former President Joe Biden did in four years.
We have to cut the waste. Musk pointed out that the economy will grow when you cut it.
One of the many complaints against Musk is that he’s an “unelected bureaucrat” because that is now just a thing…even though we’ve known since at least August that Trump would appoint Musk to oversee DOGE.
Anyway, Musk said he expects Trump to scrutinize him and not let him get away with anything.
And just going back to the president’s comments at a high level, what are the two ingredients that are really necessary in order to cut the budget deficit in half—from two trillion to one trillion?It’s really two things—competence and caring. Competence and caring are needed to cut the budget deficit in half. And I fully expect to be scrutinized—to be given a daily, detailed examination. I expect that.So it’s not like I think I can get away with something. I’ll be scrutinized. But with the support of the president, we can cut the budget deficit in half—from two trillion to one trillion. And then with deregulation—because there are a lot of regulations that don’t really serve the public good—we need to free the economy.If we do that, we’ll get economic growth—maybe three percent, four percent, maybe five percent. And that means you can get a trillion dollars in economic growth. You cut the budget deficit by a trillion between now and next year there is no inflation. There’s no inflation in 2026 if the government stops borrowing so much. That means that interest costs decline. Everyone’s mortgage, car payment, credit card bills, student debt—monthly payments drop. That’s a fantastic scenario for the average American.”Imagine a big purchase going on, and the price from one year to the next stays the same. The debt payments drop. How great is that for the average American?
One reporter tried to come off as smart because they fact-checked Musk! That $50 million worth of condoms for Gaza? Oh…it was for Mozambique.
Did the reporter care about the waste? No. The reporter wanted Musk to correct the country.
Musk had a great answer and the look on Trump’s face is priceless:
REPORTER: “Mr. Musk, you said on X that $50M of condoms were sent to Gaza. After fact checking, it was going to Mozambique. Can you correct this?”ELON MUSK: “I’m not sure we should be sending $50M of condoms anywhere. That’s really an enormously large amount of condoms.”
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