#DOGE has sought access to a powerful database of nearly all US workers’ earnings kept by the #health dept’s #ChildSupport office, setting off another disagreement w/career staff over demands for legally #protected records, acc/to 4 people familiar w/the matter.

Over the last several weeks, #billionaire #ElonMusk’s team has clashed w/ #CivilServants over attempts to #access privileged #information or systems kept by the #Treasury Dept, #IRS & #SocialSecurity, among other agencies.

#Trump’s attempt to fire Dellinger is part of his broader push to remove government #watchdogs who investigate wrongdoing & protect #FederalWorkers. Trump also has tried to fire the head of the Merit Systems Protection Board [#MSPB], an #independent agency that hears appeals of terminations & other adverse actions against #CivilServants. A federal judge reinstated her temporarily. Dellinger’s office refers certain cases to the merit board, which issues its own decisions.

The group at Mar-a-Lago brainstormed ways to terminate #FederalWorkers. One idea was to motivate them to quit, by forcing them to return to the office 5 days a week or, as #Ramaswamy suggested, moving #CivilServants to work on admin priorities like border security. Ramaswamy predicted to the team that many federal workers would not want to be part of an #immigration crackdown & would leave govt — a win-win situation.

…In one early meeting, #Musk said Smith was being too careful & offering “classic consultant stuff.” In discussions, Musk expressed impatience w/Smith’s caution that the team would need a phalanx of lawyers to help w/ #ExecutiveOrders & #regulations. Musk wanted to tear down the government to the studs, & saw Smith’s approach as incremental.

The plan for his #DOGE was mapped out in a series of closely held meetings in Palm Beach, FL, & through early #intelligence-gathering efforts in Washington.

Without ceding control of his companies, the richest man in the world has embedded his engineers & aides inside the government’s critical #digital #infrastructure, moving with a swiftness that has stunned #CivilServants.

#ElonMusk deepened the confusion & alarm of workers across the #FederalGovernment Saturday by ordering them to summarize their accomplishments for the week, warning that a failure to do so would be taken as a resignation.

Shortly after #Musk’s demand, which he posted on X, #CivilServants across the government received an email from the Office of Personnel Management with the subject line, “What did you do last week?”

It is a name that #Trump is allowing a favored donor & ally to use in a reckless campaign against various targets in the federal govt. The whole enterprise is an attack against #CivilServants & the very notion of #apolitical #expertise.

Trump allies make noises about expert failures—& yes, experts sometimes do fail. In particular, #MAGA world continues to demonize what its constituents believe was the medical establishment’s attempt to curtail civil rights during the pandemic…

#Trump’s plan to shrink the size of the federal work force dealt blows to thousands of #CivilServants in the past few days. But the cuts to the #HHS — coming on the heels of the #coronavirus #pandemic, the worst #PublicHealth crisis in a century — have been especially jarring. Experts say the firings threaten to leave the country exposed to further shortages of #health workers, putting Americans at risk if another crisis erupts.

The #CIA does not disclose its budget or the number of people it employs.
…The report of #buyout offers is in line w/a massive makeover of the US govt embarked on by the #Trump admin, which has fired & sidelined hundreds of #CivilServants in first steps toward downsizing *bureaucracy* & installing #loyalists.

The WH last wk offered 2M civilian full-time #FederalWorkers an opportunity to stop working this wk & [supposedly] receive pay & benefits through Sept 30 as Trump seeks to slash the govt.

[continued] …#DOGE teams have begun demanding access to data and systems at other #FederalAagencies. However, none of these agencies control the flow of money in the way the #TreasuryDepartment does. Access to the #FederalPaymentSystem has always been tightly restricted due to its inclusion of sensitive #PersonalInformation about millions of Americans who rely on #SocialSecurity checks, #TaxRefunds, and other government payments.

In fiscal year 2023, the Treasury Department disbursed over $5 trillion through this system in a process typically overseen by #CivilServants. The stakes are incredibly high, and it is vital for Americans to understand the gravity of these actions. Please continue to spread the word and raise awareness.