Derek Thompson

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.

Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the nonpartisan Arms Control Association, said, quote, the Doge people are coming in with absolutely no knowledge of what these departments are responsible for, end quote. Next, we have Veterans Affairs, where the Trump administration offered buyouts to tens of thousands of employees before realizing that, once again, they'd made a mistake.

Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the nonpartisan Arms Control Association, said, quote, the Doge people are coming in with absolutely no knowledge of what these departments are responsible for, end quote. Next, we have Veterans Affairs, where the Trump administration offered buyouts to tens of thousands of employees before realizing that, once again, they'd made a mistake.

Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the nonpartisan Arms Control Association, said, quote, the Doge people are coming in with absolutely no knowledge of what these departments are responsible for, end quote. Next, we have Veterans Affairs, where the Trump administration offered buyouts to tens of thousands of employees before realizing that, once again, they'd made a mistake.

Now, maybe your impression of the typical federal employee is somebody who pushes paper around all day, but if you're familiar with the VA, you know the agency provides health and psychiatric care to millions of U.S.

Now, maybe your impression of the typical federal employee is somebody who pushes paper around all day, but if you're familiar with the VA, you know the agency provides health and psychiatric care to millions of U.S.

Now, maybe your impression of the typical federal employee is somebody who pushes paper around all day, but if you're familiar with the VA, you know the agency provides health and psychiatric care to millions of U.S.

war vets, which means if you offer buyouts to Veterans Affairs, what you're going to get is a lot of underpaid doctors, nurses, and psychologists saying, okay, see ya, and leaving offices that are already understaffed. which is exactly what was about to happen, until days after the buyout offer went out, thousands of doctors, nurses, and psychologists and other essential staff got a second notice.

war vets, which means if you offer buyouts to Veterans Affairs, what you're going to get is a lot of underpaid doctors, nurses, and psychologists saying, okay, see ya, and leaving offices that are already understaffed. which is exactly what was about to happen, until days after the buyout offer went out, thousands of doctors, nurses, and psychologists and other essential staff got a second notice.

war vets, which means if you offer buyouts to Veterans Affairs, what you're going to get is a lot of underpaid doctors, nurses, and psychologists saying, okay, see ya, and leaving offices that are already understaffed. which is exactly what was about to happen, until days after the buyout offer went out, thousands of doctors, nurses, and psychologists and other essential staff got a second notice.

Oops, sorry, no, your buyout offer has been rescinded. At the Department of Education, which the Trump administration seems very intent on destroying, Doge recently terminated $1 billion in contracts.

Oops, sorry, no, your buyout offer has been rescinded. At the Department of Education, which the Trump administration seems very intent on destroying, Doge recently terminated $1 billion in contracts.

Oops, sorry, no, your buyout offer has been rescinded. At the Department of Education, which the Trump administration seems very intent on destroying, Doge recently terminated $1 billion in contracts.

But rather than end these ideological programs that Musk says he wants to eliminate, these cuts decimated the Institute for Education Science, which funds many of the most famous and longstanding studies in all of education research, including several longitudinal studies on student achievement and school effectiveness.

But rather than end these ideological programs that Musk says he wants to eliminate, these cuts decimated the Institute for Education Science, which funds many of the most famous and longstanding studies in all of education research, including several longitudinal studies on student achievement and school effectiveness.

But rather than end these ideological programs that Musk says he wants to eliminate, these cuts decimated the Institute for Education Science, which funds many of the most famous and longstanding studies in all of education research, including several longitudinal studies on student achievement and school effectiveness.

In the big picture, it's hard to think of a better nonpartisan role for government than data collection, or sort of uniquely positioned to do it. But Trump and his team have gutted now some of the best education data tools we have. It's not just progressives who are aghast at this.

In the big picture, it's hard to think of a better nonpartisan role for government than data collection, or sort of uniquely positioned to do it. But Trump and his team have gutted now some of the best education data tools we have. It's not just progressives who are aghast at this.

In the big picture, it's hard to think of a better nonpartisan role for government than data collection, or sort of uniquely positioned to do it. But Trump and his team have gutted now some of the best education data tools we have. It's not just progressives who are aghast at this.

Nat Malkus, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, told the Washington Post, quote, there's a lot of bloat in IES. There's a lot of problems to be solved. But these are problems you solve with a scalpel and maybe a hatchet, not a bulldozer. Doge's cuts will go much further.