The watchdogs at Washington's Department of Government Efficiency—DOGE, yes, named with meme flair after the Shiba Inu dog—are under fire after a Senate report found that the so-called war on waste may have strayed into outright folly. DOGE, launched in January 2025 in a high-octane push to modernize bureaucracy and slash fat, claimed headline-grabbing savings. But according to the Economic Times and the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, DOGE managed to burn through an astounding $21.7 billion of taxpayer money in under eight months, with hundreds of thousands of federal workers reportedly paid to do little or nothing.
The deferred resignation program is the linchpin of this scandal: $14.8 billion funneled to about 200,000 employees allegedly sidelined without duties, a jaw-dropping example cited by the Irish Star. Another lowlight saw scientists earning over $138,000 a year to check park tickets at national parks—a case of PhDs fetching pooch treats, metaphorically speaking. Senate Democrats aren’t surprised, calling the fiasco predictable under tech tycoons like Elon Musk, who helmed the agency despite never managing government before.
Brewminate’s reporting underscores how DOGE, armed with sweeping authority and minimal oversight, routed funds into digital modernization projects but also into consulting contracts for allies and grandiose initiatives like biometric databases that were ultimately torpedoed by legal challenges. The promise of a lean, remote operation was buried under a heap of office leases and failed tech pilots.
Even the economic ripples are souring. Fortune reports that DOGE cuts were a hidden hand behind the sharp correction in U.S. jobs reports this summer, slashing federal employment and dragging down GDP growth. Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics called the agency’s cuts “a corrosive” force, warning of data shortfalls at statistical agencies and slower government service delivery—from weather alerts to food safety.
On a positive note, FedScoop interviewed OPM’s Scott Kupor, who described DOGE as a catalyst—the nudge that forced every agency to confront efficiency, at least in theory. But whether any real reform can outlast this experiment-in-chaos remains to be seen.
Thanks for tuning in to this breakdown of the Gov Efficiency Report: Bureaucracy Barking Mad? Remember to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
For more http://www.quietplease.ai
Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta