Consider This from NPR
Former DOGE employee: work could 'cross extreme ethical and legal lines'
Thu, 27 Feb 2025
On Tuesday, 21 DOGE employees resigned. NPR spoke to one of them who says she felt the new administration was causing "harm to the American people." As Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency work to remake the federal government, some of the people tasked with executing his vision have serious concerns about what the changes will do. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What motivated 21 DOGE employees to resign?
I had been in the private sector for quite a while, actually, for all my career previously, and I really wanted to dedicate myself to using my skills to help people and help the American people.
That someone will identify using her first and middle initials DK. We're not using her full name because she fears retaliation for speaking out.
I worked on everything from how to implement AI in the government after the previous administration's executive orders. I worked on projects to help improve the benefit delivery system and improve the timeliness of benefit systems across the United States.
This work was at the U.S. Digital Service. It had been around for a decade and had hundreds of employees. On January 20th, everything changed when the newly inaugurated President Trump signed an order changing the U.S. Digital Service to the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
And we're going to be signing a very important document. deal today. It's Doge. And I'm going to ask Elon to tell you a little bit about it and some of the things that we found, which is shocking. Billions and billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse.
Doge began its march through government agencies that very day. And one month later, its leader, Elon Musk, reflected on what they had accomplished so far.
I actually just call myself a humble tech support here because this is actually... Musk spoke Wednesday at Trump's first cabinet meeting.
He talked about his team's elimination of thousands of jobs in the name of saving taxpayers money.
and there was no interruption.
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Chapter 2: Who is DK and why is she speaking out?
And White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt responded to the mass resignation in a statement saying, quote, don't let the door kick you on the way out. Consider this. As Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency work to remake the federal government, some of the people tasked with executing his vision have serious concerns about what the changes will do. From NPR, I'm Ari Shapiro.
Following the news out of Washington, D.C. can be overwhelming. I'm Scott Detrow, and NPR has a podcast that can help. It's called Trump's Terms. Stories about big changes the 47th president is pursuing on his own terms. Each episode is short, usually around five minutes or so. We keep it calm and factual. We help you follow what matters, and we leave out what doesn't.
Listen to Trump's Terms from NPR.
March is Women's History Month, so on NPR's Book of the Day podcast, we're kicking it off with a week of women writers, including one novel about a woman who ditches society and heads to a secluded religious community.
It's something that has really preoccupied me as a writer, that the question of how much should I be in the world, how much should I be out of the world.
That's this week on NPR's Book of the Day podcast.
Support for NPR and the following message come from Jarl and Pamela Moan, thanking the people who make public radio great every day and also those who listen.
Thank you.
It's Consider This from NPR. There was a time when federal government work was shorthand for a safe and predictable job. Not anymore. Today, federal government employees face drama, uncertainty, and conflict, coming largely from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. President Trump and Doge leader Elon Musk are trying to shrink the size and scope of the federal workforce.
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