The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) set a new deadline for federal employees as the Trump administration and Elon Musk pledge to take immediate action against federal waste.
Many government employees claim they are caught in the middle.
What we know: In an email sent on the night of February 22, federal employees were told they had until Monday, February 24 at 11:59 p.m. to list five work accomplishments from the previous week, or risk losing their jobs.
Some agency heads, including Trump appointees, have directed their employees to ignore the emails.
Musk’s email to federal employees follows thousands of government layoffs that have occurred since Trump’s inauguration, as well as the freezing of some federal grant funding.
The email arrived just hours after Trump urged him on social media to “get more aggressive” in reducing the size of the government.
Local perspective: Some states, including Arizona, have filed lawsuits to stop DOGE’s actions.
On February 23, we spoke with Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who is currently pursuing several lawsuits against Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE.
According to Mayes, this exemplifies how broken the current system is.
“It actually is going to be evidence in my case against Elon Musk and Donald Trump and DOGE because it demonstrates that he actually is in charge and that violates the separation of powers, and it violates the Appointments Clause in the Constitution, so you know, obviously, it’s bad for America, but it’s going to be part of our litigation to try to stop this,” Mayes told the crowd.
She claims firefighters have lost their jobs.
“We recently had hotshots fired in Payson, right before wildfire season. They attempted to defund my efforts to combat the Mexican drug cartels. That was the funding we needed to protect Arizonans from the Mexican drug cartel. “That’s nuts,” she said.
Richard Hernandez with the Federal Correctional Complex in Tucson says employees are left with countless questions after receiving Musk’s email.
“The response has been angry and confused. “There was just so much confusion,” he said. “We tried to get confirmation from the agency about what was going on. We’re just being told they’re awaiting instructions, but they’re not really telling us we don’t have to respond or that we won’t be fired; they’re just saying they’re waiting for instructions.”
What they’re saying: Arizona voters also shared their thoughts on Doge’s efforts.
“There is always room for improvement in government efficiency, but the current approach appears to be completely reckless. There is no strategy, no thoughtfulness, and I don’t think we’ll know what the consequences are for weeks, months, or even years, but I believe we can all agree that there will be consequences,” said Aaron Blocher-Rubin.
One of the voters offered his own advice to government workers.
“I know what my job is, and I know what I should be doing. I’d just say I was doing those kinds of things. I’d exaggerate them to the point where I wouldn’t get fired, and if they fired people who didn’t do their jobs, it wouldn’t be me,” Dwayne Stone said.
Meanwhile, actual federal employees say they are focusing on Washington, D.C. rather than social media.
“As this information becomes available, we will be watching our public officials’ responses and votes as they vote on funding and job retention. “We represent 30,000 correctional officers, but federal employees number three million,” Hernandez said.
He expresses concern about how the cuts will affect staff retention and recruitment.
‘Complete gutting of agencies …’
“This is outrageous. Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen agencies completely gutted. I’ve spoken directly with federal employees who have been threatened and are extremely concerned. Arizona Rep. Yassamin Ansari stated that they are being censored and, in some cases, fired without explanation.
The other side: Some Arizona politicians support scrutinising federal services and spending.
Republican Congressman Eli Crane endorsed Musk’s DOGE, saying on X, “The American people have a right to know how THEIR money is being spent. Swampy politicians have been hiding their efforts for too long. The $36 trillion debt was not an accident. Fortunately, we live in a new era of transparency.
The American people have a right to know how THEIR money is being spent.
Swampy politicians have hid their efforts for too long. A $36 trillion dollar debt wasn’t an accident.
Thankfully, we live in a new era of transparency.
— Rep. Eli Crane (@RepEliCrane) February 21, 2025
GOP Congressman Abe Hamadeh agreed, saying, “It’s unfortunate it’s taken us this long to discover how wasteful bureaucrats and the federal government have been with our hard-earned tax dollars. It’s infuriating to see the mainstream media downplay these discoveries. It’s clear why these propagandists have lost all credibility.”
It's sad it's taken us this long to get to the bottom of how wasteful the bureaucrats & the federal government have been with our hard-earned tax dollars.
It's infuriating watching the mainstream media pretend these discoveries are no big deal.
It's obvious why these… pic.twitter.com/ncFL9UFx8q
— Office of Congressman Abe Hamadeh (@RepAbeHamadeh) February 22, 2025
Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs stated, “For the first time last year, our interest payments on our debted loan exceeded our defence budget.” Meanwhile, we’re losing hundreds of billions of dollars each year due to waste, fraud, abuse, improper payments, and so on.
