One Year On, Trump–Musk DOGE Purge Shows Massive Federal Job Losses but Murky Savings
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A year after the Trump administration and Elon Musk‑backed DOGE purge, OMB data ties more than 260,000 federal workforce departures in 2025 to administration initiatives — including reductions in force, early retirements, deferred resignations and a hiring freeze — and workers such as USIP program operations manager Thea Price recount severe psychological and financial impacts after abrupt firings and legal reversals. DOGE and Musk tout large savings (DOGE reports about $215 billion so far and Musk projects up to $2 trillion long‑term), but the GAO, outside experts and watchdogs say true net savings are murky, citing errors on DOGE’s accounting pages and uncounted costs from litigation, lease terminations and rehiring, even as the White House frames the cuts as a voter mandate to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse.