Dog-related governmental deployments trigger discussions about morality and manipulation impacts
The President-elect Trump has announced plans to deploy members of his Elon Musk-backed government efficiency team, known as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), within the White House and throughout government.
Robert Shea, who served as OMB's deputy director during the George W. Bush administration, sees potential for a good working relationship between his former agency and DOGE. However, he cautions that if DOGE's members engage career staff in a constructive search for workable, scorable ideas, it could be a recipe for success. On the other hand, if they come in acting like they know all the answers and don't rely on that expertise, it's a recipe for disaster, he added.
The exact structure of DOGE and the financing of its employees are not publicly disclosed. This lack of transparency has raised concerns from Donald Sherman, executive director and chief counsel at Citizens for Responsibility in Ethics. Sherman questions the chain of command for those individuals and career civil servants, and suggests that DOGE should formally stand up a federal advisory committee to create more accountability and ties to the government.
Musk, through SpaceX and other ventures, has billions of dollars in contracting revenue with the federal government, raising conflict of interest concerns. Musk's legal liability could change depending on the type of role he formally accepts within DOGE.
The DOGE plans to send two team members to each major agency, have staff within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the U.S. Digital Service. They have proposed ideas for eradicating waste in government, such as a governmentwide hiring freeze, widespread reductions in force, and identifying areas for the OMB to delay the distribution of funds.
Walt Shaub, a former director of the Office of Government Ethics, predicts that Trump could grant Musk a blanket exemption from the ethics rules. Many of the staff for the non-governmental DOGE will receive 'special governmental employee' status, allowing them to work only part of the year and subjecting them to certain ethics rules.
However, there is a lack of clarity about who is paying for the employees of DOGE. This, along with the lack of transparency around the funding, reporting structure, and oversight of DOGE, has raised further concerns.
Musk and Ramaswamy have met with lawmakers and allies on Capitol Hill to gain support for their efforts. OMB Director-designate Russ Vought has expressed overlapping views with DOGE and stressed his goal to shrink the federal workforce and the responsibilities of federal employees.
The exact nature of the outside commission's role is not publicly described except to say it will make recommendations and help bring about cost and regulation-cutting proposals. The DOGE's key stated goal is to slash employees and spending at federal agencies. Despite the uncertainties, the deployment of the DOGE team within the government promises to bring about significant changes in the way federal agencies operate.
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