Early Thursday, Elon Musk joined Dubai's annual World Governments Summit via video link to provide an update on his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts within the US government, aimed at rooting out corruption and dismantling federal agencies, reducing the federal workforce, and eliminating the shadow government operated in a complex web of NGOs.
"We need to delete entire agencies. We need to remove the roots of the weed. That's not to say there won't be an increase in future bureaucracy from another administration but it will be from a lower baseline. Nothing is forever but we can strengthen the foundation," Musk told the crowd.
President Trump appointed Musk as a "special government employee" to lead DOGE and has waged war against the federal bureaucracy.
The latest data from Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the voluntary resignation program for the federal workforce, indicates that 75,000 workers across various federal agencies have opted to leave. This number only makes up about 3% of the 2.4 million civilian federal workforce, far short of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's target of 5% to 10%. This came after a federal judge in Boston lifted his order freezing the buyout program overnight.
"The federal workforce grew 6.3% under former President Joe Biden, fueled by pandemic spending programs. A 3% cut to the federal workforce would only bring the number down to 2023 levels," Bloomberg pointed out.
Even with the targeted buyouts missing the White House's estimates, an op-ed by the Wall Street Journal's deputy op-ed editor, Matthew Hennessey, noted:
"Even Ronald Reagan, the great apostle of smaller government, couldn't achieve in eight years what Mr. Musk has done in 3½ weeks. The billionaire businessman is less apostle than avenging angel. The Department of Government Efficiency is the change we've been waiting for."
On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order to eliminate what he described as "waste and bloat" in the government while "promptly undertaking preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force." He called it a "critical transformation" of Washington, DC, and framed the move as a necessary step forward for the nation.
Early Thursday, we noted internet search trends across the DC metro area, including Maryland and northern Virginia counties, indicating growing panic among federal workers in the so-called DC swamp. Searches for "Criminal Defense Lawyer" and "RICO Laws" have erupted in recent weeks.
Draining the swamp is long overdue.
Yet Democrats are calling for war against Musk and Trump over DOGE's efforts for a more transparent and efficient government.
Some far-left Democrats, like Rep. Robert Garcia, called for supporters to begin arming up.