What is DOGE?
The DOGE stands for the Department of Governmental Efficiency and was established by President Trump on his first day in office as one of many executive orders. Headed by Elon Musk, tech billionaire and Trump confidante, DOGE is supposedly intended to reduce "wasteful" government spending and reduce federal regulations. However, since the establishment Musk and the DOGE have directed their efforts to cutting DEI initiatives, USAID which funds international humanitarian and refugee efforts, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), Department of Education, NOAA, EPA, Treasury, and slashing of Federal workforce. In typical fashion with the Trump Administration, actions taken by Musk and the DOGE have catalyzed national chaos and controversy making it difficult to keep track of what spending/programs are being cut, especially with an overwhelming number of ongoing lawsuits against the agency.
quality of their work.
Implications:
An article from The Guardian revealed that these figures and data comes directly from CEI (Competitive Enterprise Institutes) a far right thinktank that has taken a very public stance against "climate alarmism" and "anti-energy policies". CEI conducts "research" and publishes articles purporting this rhetoric in addition to organizing lobbying campaigns to influence federal climate and energy policy. Claiming that:
"The climate catastrophe narrative is based on global climate models that inflate greenhouse gas emissions scenarios and have been falsified by the past four decades of temperature data. The real costs of proposed solutions to the alleged crisis hugely exceed their hypothetical benefits.
Coalitions led by CEI were instrumental in defeating ratification of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, defeating enactment of the 2009 Waxman-Markley cap-and-trade bill, and convincing President Trump to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate treaty."
Additionally, the Guardian article also highlighted that much of the funding for CEI comes from similar sources as Trump's campaign, notably Charles and David Kosch, two oil backed billionaires whose networks are reported to have donated $640,000 from 1997 to 2015 as well as $900,000 in 2020 alone to the CEI.
The reality that a government agency is pulling data and collaborating with an organization that proudly denounces climate change as a "narrative" is terrifying and has dire implications for the continued path of the DOGE as there seems to be little regulation on the reach of Elon Musk in the United States Government. There is hope however, that most of these cuts will not be permanent as evidenced in the large quantity of lawsuits against the agency and lack of codification into law.
Thank you for covering this. It genuinely baffles me with all of the inconsistency and just utter ignorance when it comes to Trump‘s plans.
ReplyDeleteI have heard mixed information about all of these government agencies as well as the efforts made by some. I am glad you covered this to offer more perspective.
ReplyDeleteIt’s alarming how much influence figures like Elon Musk and groups like CEI have over federal policy, especially when it comes to slashing environmental protections and regulatory agencies like NOAA and the EPA.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I'm not sure what can be done at this point to resolve this pattern. Maybe putting stricter limits on the donations people or corporations can make to politicians/campaign funds?
DeleteIt is scary how much our politicians are in oil companies pockets. Through DOGE Trump has able to cut key spending on EPA and NOAA which are key organizations for fighting climate change.
ReplyDeleteHaving Musk in such a place of power legitimately scares me. He claims he'll make things 'more efficient', but we already saw how that went when he took over Twitter and laid off 80% of its workforce. It was an utter trainwreck all the way through, and Twitter still remains a husk of what it used to be.
ReplyDeleteTo think he'll do any better at the federal level is laughable. This is not even touching on the blatant unconstitutionality of Musk's efforts, but that's a whole other matter.
It is crazy how much politics have changed and anything can go your way by having money is shocking. As well as how much science and research has gone and proved climate change, and they are still claiming that it is being "inflated". Mind Boggling!
ReplyDeleteI think they should "reduce their wasteful spending" by firing elon musk and all of trumps extended family members from their positions. It just appears to me as if I am being punked and they are filming a trashy reality tv show for mtv in the white house. Your post has a lot of great details that shed light on the situation.
ReplyDeleteI'm right their with you abby but you know the saying with great power comes no responsibility or so it feels trumps family and Elon wont be fired no matter how much wasteful spending they do because of trumps authority
DeleteThe establishment of the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) under Elon Musk, with its focus on cutting essential federal programs and reliance on data from a far-right think tank that denies climate change, raises significant concerns about the agency's influence on government policy and the potential long-term impacts on critical services and environmental protections.
ReplyDeleteThank you for looking deeper into this issue. The lack of transparency, and the amount that is happening underneath closed doors is especially alarming. All of the programs that he has cut funding to so far will not improve the state of our country, and will certainly doom our future worldwide. Passionate people working for these organizations create educated individuals who can make an impact to avoid climate crises.
ReplyDeleteIt is insane to see Elon Musk in such a position of power in our country rather than an individual legitimately qualified to be handling the spending of the government. It will be unsettling to see the impacts of the decisions he makes and cuts he chooses to enforce
ReplyDeleteIt genuinely breaks my heart to see such malicious and concentrated misinformation. It is dystopian this world that we live in.
ReplyDeleteHey Arbor, great post! It’s worrying that DOGE is using data from a group that denies climate change. Do you think the lawsuits will slow it down? Curious to hear your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteDOGE is nothing more than a outright malicious organization meant to gut the federal government run by a billionaire to give himself tax breaks. I hope that the legal system is able to actually able to put a stop to this garbage, but with how stacked the supreme court is right now I wouldn't bet on it.
ReplyDeleteIt is alarming to see the amount of data and information that is becoming inaccessible and/or hard to find with the current administration, especially with creation of DOGE under Elon Musk.
ReplyDeleteIt really scary to see unqualified people in positions running our goverment
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your coverage on this topic, as it was already alarming to me to hear that Trump handed such huge responsibility to someone who does not have the qualified background to me making these rash decisions.
ReplyDeleteTrump has very scarily been appointed, and he has appointed his cabinet picks and heads of power positions. He has picked people who are his friends and colleagues, instead of qualified and educated persons. Very sad to read.
ReplyDeleteThank you for discussing this topic! Before this blog I only knew what DOGE stood for, and I partially assumed that it was a legitimate department.
ReplyDelete