On social media, supporters of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will repeatedly ask, “He’s cutting waste and fraud. Do you have a problem with that?”
The problem arises when you look into what Elon Musk’s team of young software engineers (not auditors) are calling “waste.”
Is it a “waste” to hire employees at the VA who work on programs for vets including cancer treatment, opioid addiction, prosthetics, and burn pit exposure? Because Musk fired 1,000 VA employees, many of them vets themselves.
Is it a “waste” to give grants to farmers to fix broken cattle watering systems or plant cover crops? Musk’s team canceled $78 million in grants to farmers, and is now restoring $20 million after public outcry.
Is it a “waste” to fund cancer and disease research? Because Musk stopped the flow of $4 billion in medical research funding to the National Institutes of Health.
Is it a “waste” to hire scientists to study avian flu for the USDA, to protect our country’s food supply? DOGE fired several employees over the weekend, which the USDA now says was a “mistake.”
Is it a “waste” to fully fund and staff the World Trade Center Health Program, putting the health of 9/11 responders at risk? Because Musk cut staff there by 20%, and then cut grant funding for medical research. Only after protests from both Republicans and Democrats were the staff and funding restored.
Is it a “waste” to hire extra IRS workers during tax season, so hard-working Americans can get their tax refunds? Is it “inefficient” to have enough staff so that small business owners can reach a human when they have a question or issue? Because Musk fired thousands of IRS workers.
Many workers have been caught up in the mass firing of federal “probationary” workers, which can mean someone hired less than a year ago, or someone promoted to a new position less than a year ago who might have been in a department for decades. It has nothing to do with performance record.
These are just a few examples. And there are other problems. DOGE is supposed to be providing evidence of waste and fraud to Congress, the only entity with constitutional authority that can decide how tax dollars are spent. This auditing is not being carried out by auditors. It’s happening at lightning speed, without Congressional approval, and without thoughtfulness for the consequences it will have on the American people, and the world.
DOGE isn’t providing detailed lists of the programs they are cutting. Nor have they provided any real evidence of fraud — after millions of dollars spent by DOGE and many mistakes made. That is the real waste of taxpayer money.
Most Americans truly do want an efficient government. But common-sense Americans know this slash-and-burn approach is harming us all.
Tracey Hancock
DeLancey
Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/doge-cuts-911-related-cancer-research-funding
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/19/nx-s1-5302705/doge-overstates-savings-federal-contracts
https://capitalpress.com/2025/02/17/doge-makes-cuts-to-usda-research-positions-in-oregon
https://www.yahoo.com/news/usda-says-release-20-million-012505493.html
