The Fake Government ‘Efficiency’ Agency Known As DOGE Already Faces Multiple Lawsuits
from the this-is-why-we-can't-have-nice-things dept
One of the many new executive orders signed by President Donald Trump on Monday was the long-hyped creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DOGE is portrayed as a sort of government efficiency and innovation office, but it’s primarily flimsy cover for the extraction class as they eliminate corporate oversight, consumer protection, labor rights, and the social safety net.
The program was supposed to be spearheaded by two of the country’s biggest bloviating weirdos, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy is already leaving the agency because he purportedly wants to take a shot at becoming the Governor of Ohio (though other reports suggest he somehow managed to annoy most of the people at a fake government agency already filled with annoying people).
DOGE has other issues already as well. While it’s not a real government agency, it does appear to qualify as a federal advisory committee (FACA). And FACAs do have documentation, transparency, and other rules they have to follow, including producing meeting minutes, filing a Charter with Congress, having “fairly balanced” ideological representation, and maintaining some semblance of public open access.
Not surprisingly, Musk’s fake government efficiency agency has allegedly done none of those things, resulting in several new lawsuits that may or may not result in any reform of note.
One of the lawsuits was filed by the The American Public Health Association, the American Federation of Teachers, Minority Veterans of America, VoteVets Action Fund, Center for Auto Safety, and CREW. It calls DOGE a “shadow operation led by unelected billionaires who stand to reap huge financial rewards from this influence and access.”
“Plaintiffs and those they represent believe that the government should work for the American people and be transparent, efficient, and effective – and that the government can and should do better,” the complaint states.
Another lawsuit, filed by Public Citizen, filed in conjunction with the American Federation of Government Employees, also alleges the fake government agency is playing fast and loose with government rules.
Yet another lawsuit, filed by National Security Counselors, also points out how the setup of DOGE seems wholly disconnected from how the government is supposed to work.
It’s clear DOGE supporters (including lots of corporate backed deregulatory “innovation” think tanks) want to have their cake and eat it too. They want DOGE to be respected as a serious thing, while simultaneously having to do none of the serious things adults have to do to be taken seriously in the world of government policy:
“Sam Hammond, senior economist at the Foundation for American Innovation, who has been supportive of DOGE’s efforts, said the initiative will primarily implement ideas within the executive branch and White House, which he said would exempt it from FACA requirements. If Trump does treat DOGE as a FACA, then it should follow the required reporting rules. But for now, he said, “DOGE isn’t a federal advisory committee because DOGE doesn’t really exist. DOGE is a branding exercise, a shorthand for Trump’s government reform efforts.”
When announced, the press went out of its way to frame DOGE as a very serious thing. Of course it’s mostly a vehicle for access (read: corruption). And a way to put a lazy shine on what will be a brutal and very harmful dismantling of federal consumer protection, labor rights, environmental law, and social safety programs, which will result in very real suffering at unprecedented scale.
Musk himself admits this suffering is coming, but hopes he can bedazzle a lazy press with enough bullshit that they softsell and downplay the broad, percussive looming harms to the American public. Meanwhile fake government official Musk is already walking back claims that his fake government efficiency agency would drive some two trillion in overall government savings.
You’re supposed to ignore the fact that this is because the stuff usually most in need of cutting — fat and purposeless corporate subsidies (see: the Starlink kerfuffle) and the bottomless well of military and intelligence overbilling — are precisely the sort of stuff billionaire extraction class parasites enjoy glomming on to. The stuff deemed “inefficient” is the stuff that doesn’t benefit them personally.
Filed Under: department of government efficiency, doge, efficiency, elon musk, government, lawsuits, subsidies, transparency
Comments on “The Fake Government ‘Efficiency’ Agency Known As DOGE Already Faces Multiple Lawsuits”
His hopes aren’t misplaced. Plenty of news outlets have refused to call his twice-performed Nazi salute from last night’s Trump celebrations for exactly what it was.
Re:
What’s weird to me about the narrative against the salute is that nobody seems to consider that Musk is a troll, and doing a Nazi salute in a very public manner, then vehemently insisting that it wasn’t actually a Nazi salute is exactly what a troll would do.
Not to mention using the conversation about it as a way of going “Oh look, here come those leftists with their claims of every rightwinger being a Nazi again”.
Re: They know who owns them
Well of course, I mean after all the grovelling they recently did to prove their ‘loyalty’ it wouldn’t do to step out of line so soon now would it?
Re:
Musk himself admits this suffering is coming
Meanwhile…
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) will be chairing Oversight’s DOGE subcommittee.
Suffering is coming alright. I anxiously await the suffering that Musk and his toads will experience working with this ignorant twat.
Reuters was terribly written
EO says it’s renaming United States Digital Service to United States DOGE Service. Goal looks little more than software modernization.
Re:
Reuters wasn’t terribly written. Trump’s EO was terribly written. It claims to establish the DOGE, but then it says the structure of the DOGE is to rename USDS, but that’s not the same thing. It seems like they’re trying to shoehorn in the unorthodox (read corrupt and free from the rule of law) nature of the DOGE into an existing structure that can’t properly contain it.
Re: Re:
No doubt to evade scrutiny from bad judges. I would be very surprised if the US Digital Service as it previously existed was subject to this kind of government process law.
DOGE: Department Of Government Evildoing
Re:
Replace “Evildoing” with “Enshittification” and it would still be accurate.
Re:
Yeah, this is more like Nazi Operating Public Entity and that gets a big NOPE from me.
The program was supposed to be spearheaded by two of the country’s biggest bloviating weirdos, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Has anybody else wondered — when these two psychotic morons are meeting with Trump — which one of them sucks his rapist cock and which one of them licks his shitdripping asshole?
Welcome to the State of Trumpology
Re:
yawns
Senator William Proxmire was known for shining a spotlight on wasteful government spending of taxpayer dollars. DOGE is known (already) for lining the pockets of billionaires with those same taxpayer dollars. Hence, I believe that if Proxmire were to be living (and serving in the Senate) today, he would not be a happy camper in any way, shape or form.
Therefore, I hereby declare the entire DOGE effort shall be henceforth known as the ‘anti-Proxmire agency’. It won’t get any too much closer to the truth, or so I believe.
DOGE kinda reminds me of the Russian Communist party. An ideological organization with parallel power to that of the executive branch. Its eyes will be in every government department waiting for employees to say the wrong thing or not act loyal enough, then it will send in the actual government authorities to do something about it. Man these guys love Russia.
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it.
Re:
So the US constitution is dead and so is the first amendment and we should all prepare to say all hail eternal godking donald trump because MAGA will rule and control the US forever?
yea I don’t think so
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it.
Re: Re:
just flag them there just being defeatist
Re: Re:
Well, why do you think Trump has freed pretty much all the January 6th rioters, including the masterminds convicted for seditious conspiracy?
He wants a loyal criminal terror force. This is his pitch at recreating the SS. At the same time, he has removed the security detail from a number his critics.
I foresee the most unfortunate coincidences to happen with the most unfortunate fatalities.
Re: Re: Re:
“ I foresee the most unfortunate coincidences to happen with the most unfortunate fatalities.”
Great. I foresee you getting told to shut the fuck up.
I’m sure that Itchy Musky is actually biting its tongue to refrain it’s typical “Go f* yourself” but I’m sure its tongue will slip during the first meeting. Except this time, it won’t go that well…
'In todays news, DOGE is amazing and we have nothing else to say!'
DOGE: All the power and authority of being a government agency, none of the responsibilities or limitations for being one. Well it’s certainly on brand as a republican agency, I’ll give them that.
Musk himself admits this suffering is coming, but hopes he can bedazzle a lazy press with enough bullshit that they softsell and downplay the broad, percussive looming harms to the American public.
After seeing how motivated the press is at holding republican governments accountable and especially seeing them crawl to kiss convicted felon Trump’s feet the second he was elected…. yeah, that’s a pretty safe and solid bet there.
No more oversight
Department Of Destroying Government Effectiveness
Re:
On the other hand, how’re they going to effectively enforce any draconian policies if they render their government systems even more sluggish?
Re: Re:
Well, Trump did pardon a thousand potential brownshirts last night, so…
Re: Re: Re:
The SS wasn’t wearing brown. You are confusing this with the SA. You need to distinguish the outright criminals from the army perverted to a personal tool.
Because you are getting both.
Re: Re: Re:2
Since other countries are leaning down the far right route as well, we might as well just declare this the end of the free world or some bullshit like that, right?
Re: Re: Re:
Every time I try to find some nugget of positivity…Oh well. I’m not sure how the US is going to avoid the worst outcome here anymore, to be honest with you.
I have faith those still fighting may be able to hold it off, but it’s hard to see through all the smog of bullshit. Let alone making it through four years of it.
Re: Re: Re:2
I’ve tried multiple times to help you, and you have seemingly refused to accept the advice I’ve given you. So I’m going to say this one more time, and from here on out, it’s flag-on-sight for your toxicity: Stop trying to make everyone else feel as shitty as you feel—and stop trying to make yourself feel like shit, too.
Re: Re: Re:2
Four years of training his loyal criminals should suffice to make sure that this time there will be no more transition of power. Probably not even an election.
There may be midterms, but I doubt their results will be accepted if they don’t support the regime, and that is not a given.
You’ve seen the disorganized Bierhallenputsch on January 6th leading nowhere without a followup plan and ending in criminal prosecutions.
That will not happen again. “A Republic, if you can keep it.”
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it.
Re: Re: Re:3
Exactly, Dave. I’ve said this before and get pooh-pooed for “doomposting.” Trump’s entering the Oval Office for the second time is the end of our Democracy.
Re: Re: Re:4
Gee, I wonder why you get “pooh-pooed” for doomposting.
Re: Re: Re:5
Same reason we got there in the first place. “Ah, it can’t be just as bad as everyone including himself say’s it will be.”
Department Of Greedy Elon
Oops. Maybe the boys will have to re-launch as Fixing Up His Really Efficient Regime.
Just curious: why would any U.S. citizen object to the federal government becoming more efficient and less wasteful of our precious tax dollars?
Re:
I don’t think anyone objects to the concept. The execution is what matters. Right now, the plan from Musk looks like he wants Trump/the GOP to gut Medicare and Medicaid, gut Social Security, fire a lot of federal employees, and maybe even do away with entire government departments/agencies—all decisions that would likely face an uphill climb in a less corrupt government and result in serious consequences if they were enacted. For example: Imagine a U.S. where the Environmental Protection Agency can no longer help keep the environment clean because Musk believed the entire EPA is “a waste of resources” and the GOP agreed with him.
Re:
Nobody would object to that, but you’d have to be staggeringly ignorant to believe DOGE or any other part of this admin is actually going to accomplish that.
Re: Re:
Don’t knock “staggeringly ignorant”. It is the apex prey in politics, readily available and reliably providing solid returns.
Re:
Be sure to sweep up all that straw when you leave.
Re:
Just curious: Why would any German citizen object to the government enlisting the aid of industrialists to rebuild the German economy circa 1933?
Re:
Because the government isn’t as wasteful as portrayed, and “cutting waste” is generally code for “cutting programs I don’t like” rather than being about efficency.
Also, there is an actual body responsible for assessing waste, fraud, and abuse. It’s called the Government Accountability Office.
Re:
If you think that’s what it’s actual purpose is I’ve got some wonderful bridges to sell you, not to mention I hear that there’s a prince or two with a deal they’d love to tell you about.
Re:
I don’t want an efficient government at the expense of a just government. It’s really efficient, for example, to make it easy for the %80 of the population that lives in urban areas to vote and just stop putting ballot boxes in the rural areas and instead make them travel. As it’s only about 20% of the population. But that’s not very just, now is it?
Re:
Efficiency is a useful word. Its such a nebulous standard, its easy to fiddle with what is meant by efficiency in post. DOGE is not looking for “efficiency”. The efficiency it is looking for is ‘cost cutting’. These are not the same thing, and the history of inciting incidents to worker safety regulations is exhibit A in the problems with confusing cost cutting and efficiency.
If we can save $200, but it costs 100 lives, is that efficent?
News to me
“…primarily flimsy cover for the extraction class as they eliminate corporate oversight, consumer protection, labor rights, and the social safety net.”
Holy shitbirds!
You mean we actually had all those things this whole time?!
“DOGE is a very serious thing” meanwhile its acronym is a meme.
Re:
Given the mental immaturity of those involved I all but guarantee they started with the name and worked back from there.
Any who studies true process improvement systems (how businesses improve efficiency) knows that creating a department to do it is 100% absolutely the wrong way to do it.
Like most things that Musk and Trump touch, this is destined to be a collosal failure.