Trump Agency Heads Ignore Musk’s Ultimatum to Federal Employees, in Farcical Episode

On Saturday, Elon Musk impulsively gave all federal employees a Monday deadline to report what they accomplished in their jobs last week. We’ll get to why this was foolish. Ironically, though, at least from the standpoint of court challenges to the DOGE operation that Musk is spearheading for the Trump White House, the farce may prove to be an unintended coup: It prompted a backlash in which Trump-appointed agency heads admonished their personnel to ignore the directive. That could help Musk establish that he is not exercising such broad powers that the Constitution mandates his submission to a Senate confirmation process.

I’m not sure DOGE is much more than a public relations stunt. It is titillating the Trump base by sending all the right Democrats and government employee unions into a tizzy. Already, though, it seems there is less here than meets the eye. A weekend Wall Street Journal analysis indicates that DOGE’s claims of savings are vastly overstated, based on errors, double-counting (and worse), and incoherent tabulations. In the end, it’s unlikely DOGE will affect more than a negligible amount of the federal budget and the administrative state: It’s not going to “save our country,” balance the budget, or make a dent in our unsustainable but statutorily based entitlement spending and debt service.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.

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On Saturday, Elon Musk impulsively gave all federal employees a Monday deadline to report what they accomplished in their jobs last week. We’ll get to why this was foolish. Ironically, though, at least from the standpoint of court challenges to the DOGE operation that Musk is spearheading for the Trump White House, the farce may prove to be an unintended coup: It prompted a backlash in which Trump-appointed agency heads admonished their personnel to ignore the directive. That could help Musk establish that he is not exercising such broad powers that the Constitution mandates his submission to a Senate confirmation process.

I’m not sure DOGE is much more than a public relations stunt. It is titillating the Trump base by sending all the right Democrats and government employee unions into a tizzy. Already, though, it seems there is less here than meets the eye. A weekend Wall Street Journal analysis indicates that DOGE’s claims of savings are vastly overstated, based on errors, double-counting (and worse), and incoherent tabulations. In the end, it’s unlikely DOGE will affect more than a negligible amount of the federal budget and the administrative state: It’s not going to “save our country,” balance the budget, or make a dent in our unsustainable but statutorily based entitlement spending and debt service.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.