Derek Thompson

With the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, aka Doge, Musk has claimed for himself an extraordinary amount of power, serving as the iron fist of the White House, rooting out what he sees as the plague of wokeism in government, halting grants, freezing payments, lighting fires in various departments, and generally firing as many people as he can get away with.

With the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, aka Doge, Musk has claimed for himself an extraordinary amount of power, serving as the iron fist of the White House, rooting out what he sees as the plague of wokeism in government, halting grants, freezing payments, lighting fires in various departments, and generally firing as many people as he can get away with.

With the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, aka Doge, Musk has claimed for himself an extraordinary amount of power, serving as the iron fist of the White House, rooting out what he sees as the plague of wokeism in government, halting grants, freezing payments, lighting fires in various departments, and generally firing as many people as he can get away with.

For the past month, chaos and confusion have gripped Washington, D.C., and the federal bureaucracy, A slew of federal judges have already ruled that Trump and Musk have violated the law, typically by exceeding the powers of the executive branch and attempting to defund agencies that were initially funded by Congress, the legislative branch.

For the past month, chaos and confusion have gripped Washington, D.C., and the federal bureaucracy, A slew of federal judges have already ruled that Trump and Musk have violated the law, typically by exceeding the powers of the executive branch and attempting to defund agencies that were initially funded by Congress, the legislative branch.

For the past month, chaos and confusion have gripped Washington, D.C., and the federal bureaucracy, A slew of federal judges have already ruled that Trump and Musk have violated the law, typically by exceeding the powers of the executive branch and attempting to defund agencies that were initially funded by Congress, the legislative branch.

But what I want to focus on today is not Musk's methods or his motivations, but rather to judge him by his outcomes. Doge exists, in theory, to seek efficiency. And the need for efficiency today is understandable. The federal government is deep in debt. Our interest payments now exceed what we spend on defense. And even if the U.S.

But what I want to focus on today is not Musk's methods or his motivations, but rather to judge him by his outcomes. Doge exists, in theory, to seek efficiency. And the need for efficiency today is understandable. The federal government is deep in debt. Our interest payments now exceed what we spend on defense. And even if the U.S.

But what I want to focus on today is not Musk's methods or his motivations, but rather to judge him by his outcomes. Doge exists, in theory, to seek efficiency. And the need for efficiency today is understandable. The federal government is deep in debt. Our interest payments now exceed what we spend on defense. And even if the U.S.

had no issue with its debt, it would still be a mitzvah to find ways to make government work better. To take the same tax dollar further. To do one more unit of good. but like some out-of-control chemotherapy that attempts to kill a cancer and instead ravages the healthy cells. The first few weeks of Doge have showed us an out-of-control organization wrecking blind havoc across government.

had no issue with its debt, it would still be a mitzvah to find ways to make government work better. To take the same tax dollar further. To do one more unit of good. but like some out-of-control chemotherapy that attempts to kill a cancer and instead ravages the healthy cells. The first few weeks of Doge have showed us an out-of-control organization wrecking blind havoc across government.

had no issue with its debt, it would still be a mitzvah to find ways to make government work better. To take the same tax dollar further. To do one more unit of good. but like some out-of-control chemotherapy that attempts to kill a cancer and instead ravages the healthy cells. The first few weeks of Doge have showed us an out-of-control organization wrecking blind havoc across government.

Their effort to trim the fat keeps cutting deep into bone over and over again in a way that I worry will eventually do serious damage, even if it's hard to specifically predict what the worst damage will look like.

Their effort to trim the fat keeps cutting deep into bone over and over again in a way that I worry will eventually do serious damage, even if it's hard to specifically predict what the worst damage will look like.

Their effort to trim the fat keeps cutting deep into bone over and over again in a way that I worry will eventually do serious damage, even if it's hard to specifically predict what the worst damage will look like.

When you consider very closely what Musk and Doge have attempted to do in the last few weeks, I think the only objective conclusion one can reach at this point is that what's happening in government is not just a reign of terror. It's a reign of ineptitude. Let's start at the Department of Energy, where Doge recently laid off more than 1,000 workers.

When you consider very closely what Musk and Doge have attempted to do in the last few weeks, I think the only objective conclusion one can reach at this point is that what's happening in government is not just a reign of terror. It's a reign of ineptitude. Let's start at the Department of Energy, where Doge recently laid off more than 1,000 workers.

When you consider very closely what Musk and Doge have attempted to do in the last few weeks, I think the only objective conclusion one can reach at this point is that what's happening in government is not just a reign of terror. It's a reign of ineptitude. Let's start at the Department of Energy, where Doge recently laid off more than 1,000 workers.

Among those laid off were 300 staff at the National Nuclear Security Administration. We're talking scientists, engineers, and safety officials responsible for safeguarding nuclear warheads. Roughly 100 people were reportedly laid off from the Pantext plant in Texas, the most important nuclear assembly and disassembly plant in the country, before they were called back into the office.

Among those laid off were 300 staff at the National Nuclear Security Administration. We're talking scientists, engineers, and safety officials responsible for safeguarding nuclear warheads. Roughly 100 people were reportedly laid off from the Pantext plant in Texas, the most important nuclear assembly and disassembly plant in the country, before they were called back into the office.