Who were the 21 federal workers who resigned from the Department of Government Efficiency? They took a stand against DOGE, stating they would not “jeopardize Americans’ sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services,” but they aren’t viewed favorably by their coworkers. Were the 21 former employees actually “full remote workers who hung Trans flags from their workplaces,” as current DOGE employee Katie Miller says?
Every federal worker swears to serve the American people and uphold the oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations. It’s atypical to witness federal workers resigning as a new administration comes in, so this instance isn’t one to overlook.
In order to understand the significance behind the layoffs and resignations under DOGE, it’s important to understand what DOGE is: an agency tasked with modernizing federal technology and maximizing governmental efficiency. The way we’ve seen the agency work in Donald Trump’s administration has been decreasing the federal budget; for example, the agency has laid off National Parks workers and is investigating who’s receiving Social Security benefits to do budget cuts.
The resigned workers were originally employed under Barack Obama’s U.S. Digital Service, now renamed the U.S. DOGE Service. When I heard people talking about DOGE, I hadn’t heard that Obama’s agency preceded it. It’s important to note that this isn’t actually a newfound agency; it’s Obama’s agency that’s been rebranded by Donald Trump.
Following Trump’s executive order to rename and overhaul the USDS to DOGE, there was some controversy. The deputy administrator, Ted Carstensen, resigned in early February, and shortly thereafter, about one-third of the USDS was also let go due to DOGE’s layoffs. The staff changes didn’t stop there, either: after approximately 50 of 150 employees were laid off, another 21 resigned. These are the 21 who wrote the noteworthy resignation letter.
In their resignation letter, the employees who resigned described the way that they believed the mass layoff was conducted. The 21 who resigned claimed that there were unidentified White House visitors who asked them questions about political loyalty, and then two weeks later, an anonymous email went out laying off one-third of the USDS workforce.
Some former employees from the first round of layoffs have come forth stating the reasons why they believe they were laid off. Jonathan Kamens suspects he was let go because he publicly endorsed Kamala Harris. Kamens’ claim may hold a kernel of truth: Elon Musk characterized the 21 employees who resigned as “Dem political holdovers who refused to return to the office.”
It’s uncertain who’s truly in charge of DOGE and how the USDS employees are integrating into the “new” agency. As of Feb. 18, Wired has reported that USDS employees and DOGE employees are currently working separately; however, in light of the mass resignation letter, it seems that the dynamics are actively shifting.
In the same article by Wired, many yet-to-be-answered questions surrounding Elon Musk’s legal authority over DOGE are discussed. Musk’s current title is senior advisor to the president, and his leadership of DOGE currently is what Wired describes as “unofficial and in name only.”
The director of the White House Office of Administration, Joshua Fisher, said in a statement that “Mr. Musk is an employee in the White House Office. He is not an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service or U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization. Mr. Musk is not the U.S. DOGE Service Administrator.”
Musk has been tweeting up a storm about how he will be slashing the budget, and he showed up on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference wielding a chainsaw. It’ll be interesting to see how the next few months unfold and if Musk’s official job description changes to give him explicit legal authority over DOGE.
Overall, DOGE is still evolving and changing, and the 21 who resigned didn’t like the direction the organization was headed. The history of DOGE and the agency that came before it is one I suggest everyone does further research for themselves about.
It’s important to stay politically educated, even though the sheer amount of information out there can feel overwhelming. Form your own opinions and choose what’s best for you, like the 21 federal employees did as they submitted their letters of resignation on Feb. 25th.
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