Government Efficiency (7 Viewers)

[RobF]

I think this topic deserves its own thread, both to discuss generally the topic of government efficiency, and specifically the so-called 'Department of Government Efficiency' and the incoming Trump administration's aims to "dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure Federal Agencies".

The announcements have been covered in the The Trump Cabinet and key post thread, but to recap, Trump has announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will work together on a not-actually-an-official-government-Department of Government Efficiency, which is intended to work with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to "drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before," with the 'Department' to conclude its work "no later than July 4, 2026."

Musk has previously said that the federal budget could be reduced by "at least $2 trillion", and Ramaswarmy, during his presidential campaign, said he would fire more than 75% of the federal work force and disband agencies including the Department of Education and the FBI.

 

[Sendai]

“Although the White House has asserted that Musk is a ‘special government employee,’ we have seen no evidence that he is complying with the procedures and rules that ordinarily apply to such employees,” Whitehouse wrote in the Feb. 15 letter.

The Trump administration claims Musk doesn’t actually work for DOGE. He’s simply a “senior advisor to the president,” White House Office of Administration Director Joshua Fisher wrote in a declaration filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Monday.

“Like other senior White House advisors, Mr. Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself,” Fisher wrote. “Mr. Musk can only advise the president and communicate the president’s directives.

The declaration was filed in response to a lawsuit from several Democratic states, including Rhode Island, that sought to block Musk and the DOGE team from accessing government systems. U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan denied the block Tuesday.“

Whitehouse to White House: Is Musk running the government without confirmation? • Rhode Island Current

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) wants clarity from the White House on what exactly the world’s richest man is doing to help President Donald Trump’s administration slash federal spending.

rhodeislandcurrent.com

Methinks that 130 day thing isn’t going to matter.

 

[Optimus Prime]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It was a scene some federal workers found upsetting and tone deaf.

Under government-wide orders to end work-from-home arrangements and return to the office, employees in the Office of Personnel Management were shocked to be greeted on Monday with bowls of candy, balloons, handshakes from managers and people snapping their pictures, said three people familiar with the scene.

Many worked remotely for years, even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Employees in the office, the government's human resources HQ, say they can do most of their work remotely.

It was the first day remote federal workers who live up to 50 miles (80 km) from Washington had to report for work under orders from President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk to drastically downsize the federal workforce.

Six weeks into Trump's second White House term, many were still reeling from the firings of their colleagues as part of the Republican president's drive to slash and reshape the federal bureaucracy.

The Office of Personnel Management is the very nerve center of the government downsizing effort.

On Friday, OPM workers who took a government buyout returned their equipment and left the building for the last time. All the agency's recent hires have been fired and many other career staff have been sent termination notices.

OPM will not say how many in total have either been fired or taken buyouts but one source put the figure at 650 of the agency’s total 3,300 staff.

Bowls of candy were laid out, party balloons flew and OPM workers took pictures and video of them being greeted in the main lobby by acting administrator Chuck Ezell and chief of Staff Amanda Scales, the people added.

Ezell has been a central figure in executing the plans of Musk's cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency.

One worker, who declined to be identified for fear of retribution, said, "Being greeted with cameras in our faces and handshakes from the very people whose names have been on all of the memos and emails focused on undermining our agency and demeaning our work felt tone-deaf at best and mean-spirited at worst."

A second worker described the scene as jarring and a third described it as disgusting.

OPM was swiftly taken over by DOGE after Trump took office in January. It harbors the databases with the personal details of past and present government employees.

McLaurine Pinover, an OPM spokesperson, defended the welcome-back effort.

"OPM wanted to ensure employees returning to work at OPM HQ were warmly welcomed back. OPM is committed to making the workplace an engine for public service excellence," Pinover told Reuters in an emailed statement................

Remote federal workers in Washington greeted with balloons, candy amid layoffs​

 

[Optimus Prime]

 

[MT15]

Methinks that 130 day thing isn’t going to matter.

Nothing matters when you are unethical and lawless, right?

 

[DaveXA]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It was a scene some federal workers found upsetting and tone deaf.

Under government-wide orders to end work-from-home arrangements and return to the office, employees in the Office of Personnel Management were shocked to be greeted on Monday with bowls of candy, balloons, handshakes from managers and people snapping their pictures, said three people familiar with the scene.

Many worked remotely for years, even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Employees in the office, the government's human resources HQ, say they can do most of their work remotely.

It was the first day remote federal workers who live up to 50 miles (80 km) from Washington had to report for work under orders from President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk to drastically downsize the federal workforce.

Six weeks into Trump's second White House term, many were still reeling from the firings of their colleagues as part of the Republican president's drive to slash and reshape the federal bureaucracy.

The Office of Personnel Management is the very nerve center of the government downsizing effort.

On Friday, OPM workers who took a government buyout returned their equipment and left the building for the last time. All the agency's recent hires have been fired and many other career staff have been sent termination notices.

OPM will not say how many in total have either been fired or taken buyouts but one source put the figure at 650 of the agency’s total 3,300 staff.

Bowls of candy were laid out, party balloons flew and OPM workers took pictures and video of them being greeted in the main lobby by acting administrator Chuck Ezell and chief of Staff Amanda Scales, the people added.

Ezell has been a central figure in executing the plans of Musk's cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency.

One worker, who declined to be identified for fear of retribution, said, "Being greeted with cameras in our faces and handshakes from the very people whose names have been on all of the memos and emails focused on undermining our agency and demeaning our work felt tone-deaf at best and mean-spirited at worst."

A second worker described the scene as jarring and a third described it as disgusting.

OPM was swiftly taken over by DOGE after Trump took office in January. It harbors the databases with the personal details of past and present government employees.

McLaurine Pinover, an OPM spokesperson, defended the welcome-back effort.

"OPM wanted to ensure employees returning to work at OPM HQ were warmly welcomed back. OPM is committed to making the workplace an engine for public service excellence," Pinover told Reuters in an emailed statement................

Remote federal workers in Washington greeted with balloons, candy amid layoffs​

I wish I could comment, but would possibly make it too obvious who I work for. Not OPM, but I'm well aware of sheet like this going on. Absolutely tone deaf and forking gross.

 

[Optimus Prime]

I wish I could comment, but would possibly make it too obvious who I work for. Not OPM, but I'm well aware of sheet like this going on. Absolutely tone deaf and forking gross.

and tone deaf is the best case scenario

the other option is deliberately forking with people, which is certainly possible

 

[zztop]

Elon and his cronies are so forking stupid

Federal firings could wreak havoc on Great Lakes fishery

Populations of sea lampreys likely to run amok with US Fish and Wildlife Service cuts.

arstechnica.com

Cutting back the control program by one-sixth would allow over one million lamprey to survive, McClinchey estimated. Those lampreys would eat nearly 5 million pounds of fish, equalling $105 million in lost economic output and potential, far outstripping the cost of the workers’ salaries